What's Meant To Be Will Always Find A Way
by keksmama
Summary: Claire is pregnant and makes a discovery that will change her life completely...COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**What's Meant To Be Will Always Find A Way…**

Claire McLeod sat down on the chair behind her father's desk. 'Great McLeod, you can't even be up for a couple minutes without having to sit down again! This'll take ages!' Claire was rubbing her swollen tummy, she was 8th month pregnant. She took a look around the study and at the papers, folders and boxes spread around the floor and desk. Claire had found a couple of boxes with old papers of hers in the attic when she had looked for the old baby bed. Now she was sorting through everything and putting it in folders. 'I'll just have to do it all seated…' Claire pulled herself up from the chair walked around the desk and bent down to pick up another box.

"Oi Claire, what do you think you're doing there?" Tess, Claire's younger sister, stood in the doorway and looked at her sister.

"Oh Tess, you're already back! Could you pick this box up for me and put it on the desk?"

"Claire, I told you to wait till I'm finished with the today's chores…"

"I know but I feel so useless…" Tess went over to Claire, picked up the box and put it on the desk. "Here, there you have it. Now be a good sister and sit down. I'll take a quick shower and be right back."

"No need to hurry Tess, Meg should have dinner almost finished, I'll just have a quick look through this box here and then I'll go set the table. At least that's something I can do!" Ever since Claire had reached the last trimester of her pregnancy she wasn't allowed to get up on her horse anymore to help with the daily works around her farm. And that was something that really bothered Claire. She was not the type to sit at home and just do nothing, she needed to work. So she had already decorated the nursery and when she had found the boxes in the attic she had been glad to have another project.

"Righto then, I'll have my shower and we'll see how far Meg is when I'm finished." Tess left her sister with the papers and headed upstairs for the shower. Claire smiled. It was so good to have Tess back. She couldn't imagine what life would be like without her now. Tess had so much energy and brought life and light into this house and Claire was happy now that Tess had found her way home almost 3 years ago. Her sister had been so supportive over the last months with Claire being pregnant and all that had happened before that. She had only asked Claire once who the father of her baby was but when she didn't get an answer she had been quiet about it. Claire still couldn't believe she was pregnant. If somebody had told her a year ago she'd have a baby and be happy about it she would have called them nuts.

'Ok, back to the papers or Tess will be finished and I'll still be here…' she thought and turned her attention to the box in front of her. She scanned through the papers and at the very bottom of the box found an unopened envelope. Claire frowned and turned the envelope around. This was not something she had received, this was a letter that she had meant to send but never did. She opened the envelope and took out what was inside. She took one look at the document and was horrified…No this couldn't be true! How could she have forgotten to send that…

2

After her shower Tess changed into fresh clothes and went into the kitchen to see how far dinner was.

"Tess, could you set the table?" Meg said "Dinner's almost finished now."

Tess looked confused. "Where's Claire? I thought she wanted to do that?"

"I don't know where she is, I haven't seen her for a while but the table needs to be done now so would you please be so kind…"

Tess was still a bit confused but shrugged her shoulders and started to set the table. Claire had probably forgotten about it over her stupid papers.

Tess's thoughts drifted back to the day they had found out Claire was pregnant. Claire had not been feeling well for about two weeks and everybody had been worried about her.

_Tess walked into the kitchen and as always Claire was already up and having breakfast. But today Claire only looked at her plate and tossed the bacon from one end to the other. She looked pale and skinny, probably a result of her constant sickness in the last two weeks. "Claire? You alright?" "Huh?" was the only answer she got. Tess felt so sorry for Claire. She had gone through so much lately. First she had split up with her boyfriend Peter after she found out he was married and had children. Then she quit the training business with Australian Bloodlines and tried to start a business of her own partnering with Alex Ryan. Just when she thought everything was going to be all right Alex had disappeared from the face of the earth after he found out that his father Harry was not his biological father and that his mother had lied to him all his life. So much for the training business…_

_Claire took another bite of her toast which only resulted in her running to the bathroom and loosing the little she had had for breakfast to the toilet again._

_Meg shook her head. She had a pretty good idea what was going on with Claire and decided to give it a shot. If she wasn't right they could still take her to the doctor and if she was right they needed to go to a doctor sooner or later anyway. So while she was in town that day getting supplies she went to buy a pregnancy test for Claire and hid it at the bottom of a bag. Back home she was carrying everything inside but deep in thought she accidentally ran into Tess and the bag she had in her arms went to the floor and all the contents – including the pregnancy test – were spread in the kitchen._

"_Meg? What's this?" Tess asked as she found the test. "Bugga…it's for Claire. I don't know if I'm right but I thought…well…"_

"_Meg, that's brilliant! Why didn't I think of that? But you know what…I'll break the news to her. She can't fire me, right? I'm her sister…"_

"_True. But will you let me know if I was right? I'd just like to know…"_

_After assuring Meg she would let her know Tess took the test and went to look for her sister. She found Claire in the stables talking to Blaze._

"_Claire? We need to talk!"_

"_Tess, I really don't feel like…"  
"I know, that's why we need to talk! Look…umm…how am I going to say this…Meg and I might have an idea what could be wrong with you but you have to promise to not be angry with us."_

"_Tess!"_

"_Promise!"_

"_Ok, ok, I promise…"_

"_Right. While Meg was in town today she got this for you." Tess said and handed Claire the pregnancy test. At first Claire looked confused but then Tess could see it working in her brain. Claire's expression turned from confusion to surprise to shock._

"_Well, what do you think? Wanna take the test?"_

"_Yeah, would probably be a good idea…"_

_So they went back to the homestead and straight to the bathroom and 5 minutes later they had the result…Claire was undeniably pregnant!_

3

When Tess was finished with the table she told Meg she'd go and look for Claire and headed for the study.

Tess found her sister behind the desk in some kind of trance. Claire looked shocked and Tess could see she was miles away.

"Claire? Everything all right?" Claire looked up finally realizing that Tess was there.

"Umm…yeah…yeah, it's all good. Dinner finished?" All of a sudden Claire got really busy trying to put the papers she was holding back into the box. Tess shook her head and smiled. Hormones!

"Yep, dinner's finished and the table is already set."

"Right, I'll be with you in a minute…"

Later that night everybody was sound asleep but Claire. She was still thinking about the documents down in the study. After dinner she hadn't been able to get them back out of the box and she needed to get them before anybody would find them.

So she got up, put her bathrobe on and went down to the study as quietly as she could. She was relieved to find the envelope where she had left it and headed back upstairs.

"Claire? What are you doing up?" Tess was standing at the top of the stairs waiting for her sister.

"Bloody hell, Tess! You scared me to death!"

"Well, why are you up?"

"I was hungry and couldn't sleep so I had something to eat…" Claire hoped that Tess couldn't see her eyes in the dark. Her sister always knew when she was lying by just taking a deep look into her eyes.

"A bit late for a snack…well, try to sleep now!" Was all Tess had to say and Claire was relieved. They both went back to their rooms.

Inside her bedroom Claire switched on the light and took the paper out of the envelope again. She was still shocked by what she read there. How could she have forgotten about that? She had been the one that had wanted this so why didn't she send it?

She took one last look…

"_Official annulment of the marriage of Claire Louise McLeod and Alexander Marion Ryan…"_

And then the consequence of what she had just read came to her mind…She was still married to Alex Ryan!


	2. Chapter 2

4

The next morning Claire walked into the kitchen with a headache from a more or less sleepless night. Everybody else had already gone out to do what needed to be done that day. Claire found her breakfast waiting in the oven and sat down to eat it although she was not really hungry. The shock of her discovery yesterday was too deep to be really hungry.

Claire knew she had to find Alex as soon as possible. The problem was nobody knew where he was! Since the truth had come out about Alex's father nobody had seen him, it was like he never existed. But somebody had to know! And Claire had to find him before he did anything stupid.

So she decided to make a few phone calls when she had finished her breakfast. Sorting the rest of the papers could wait, finding Alex was now priority number 1. And since she would have been in the study all day anyway nobody on Drovers would notice she hoped.

The first person Claire called was Nick, Alex's younger brother. She had talked to him about Alex and his disappearance before and Nick had told her he didn't know where Alex was but she could still give it a try. Maybe he could give Claire a hint who else she could call.

"Wilgul, Nick speaking"

"Hi Nick, it's Claire…"

"Claire, what can I do for you?"

"Umm, it's about Alex again. You haven't by any chance heard of him lately?"

"No, nothing, why?

"I need to talk to him, Nick. It's really important!"

"I'm sorry Claire, last I heard he took the money from his trust fund and left the next day. I haven't heard of him since and neither have Mum or Dad."

"Harry signed the papers for the trust fund?"

"No he didn't, Mum did. Alex wasn't happy but he took the money…"

"Umm, do you know where I could find your mother? Maybe she knows more…I really need to find him!"

"Claire, what's up? Is everything all right?"

"No Nick but I can't tell you, I need to talk to Alex first."  
"Sorry I couldn't help you Claire. I'll give you Mum's phone number, she's still in Fisher right now but will leave for Melbourne next week. You gotta hurry if you want to talk to her."  
"Thanks Nick…"

Nick gave Claire Liz's phone number and address in Fisher and Claire tried to call her right away but it looked like Liz wasn't home. So Claire made a decision. If Liz knew anything she would have to drive to Fisher anyway, so why not drive now and see if she could catch her. She still couldn't forgive Liz what she had done to Alex and Harry but right now she seemed to be the best source of information.

Since it was already close to lunch time and the drive to Fisher was long Claire decided she might as well stay there over night. So she went up to her bedroom and packed a little bag with a few necessary things plus the never sent off annulment papers. She didn't want to take the risk of anybody finding them.

Claire new Tess wouldn't be happy about her decision to drive all the way to Fisher or staying there over night so she simply left a note on the kitchen table that she would be back tomorrow morning. Then she jumped in the Merc and drove off to find Liz in Fisher…

5

_10 years earlier… _

"_Alex, we need to talk…"_

"_Why Claire? What's up?"_

"_I can't go through with it, it was just not right…"_

"_But I thought that was what we both wanted?"_

_Alex was really confused. What did Claire want?_

"_Alex, I want you to sign this…" She handed him a paper. He read it and looked at Claire even more confused._

"_Why are you doing this Claire? We both wanted to get married and now you're saying you don't want to be my wife anymore?"_

"_Alex please, it's not that easy…"_

"_Then explain it to me!"_

"_I can't…it was a mistake…they wouldn't let us be together anyway…I don't know, I just can't do it…" Claire had started crying. She didn't know why she wanted to annul their marriage she just had the feeling that they shouldn't have done it in the first place._

"_That's not god enough! If we stick together they can't separate us…Claire…"_

"_Alex, please, sign the papers…"_

"_Claire, I love you! I don't want this to end! We'll get through this together!"_

"_Alex, it was over before it began because we did it all in secret! You never really loved me and I don't really love you so sign those stupid papers and let's be friends again…" Claire knew she was lying and looked down so Alex couldn't see her face. Tears were still rolling down her cheeks. _

"_What did you just say? Claire?" But he never got an answer. "Right then, maybe you're right and we were never in love. Here, I'll sign the papers!" Alex searched his pockets for a pen and when he found one he put the papers on the roof of his car and signed everything that needed to be signed._

_Without a word he handed them over to Claire and got in his car. Before he drove off he said "You will NEVER see me again!" Then he left with spinning wheels leaving Claire in a dust cloud…_

6

A few hours after Claire had left for Fisher Tess walked into the homestead to look for her sister.

"Claire?" She went right into the study but only found it empty. "Maybe she's having a nap…" Claire's bedroom was empty as well but when Tess saw the open drawers it dawned on her that she would not find her sister anywhere near the house. "Damn it! Claire! What's up with you?" She yelled as she walked back down into the kitchen.

In the meantime the rest of the Drovers staff – Meg, Jodi and Becky – had come in and unlike Tess had found Claire's note on the kitchen table.

"Tess, we found this on the table…" Becky said and handed Tess the note.

_Tess,_

_Making a trip to Fisher to do some shopping. Will stay over night so don't wait for me._

_Claire_

"Shopping?" Tess looked at the paper in disbelieve. Since when was Claire into shopping? And why the hell did she take off alone being 8 months pregnant? What if something happened to her, what if she went into labour at the side of the road? Claire was so bloody pigheaded! But what could she do? They had heaps of work to do especially now that Claire couldn't help so she couldn't possibly go after her.

"Girls, let's get moving and get the work done. Guess we won't see Claire again till tomorrow. I could kill her…"

When Claire finally arrived in Fisher she was exhausted. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea after all to drive all the way alone. But she was here now and first thing she had to do was look for a hotel room. Claire found a nice little hotel a little outside of town and when she had settled in to her room tried to call Liz one more time but again with no luck. 'I guess it can't hurt to take a nap…' she thought and made herself comfortable on the bed. The drive had worn her out more than she had thought and the baby had been very active all day long but had finally calmed down so she drifted off to sleep…

When Claire woke up again it was completely dark in the room and she could hear her stomach growling. With a look at the alarm clock next to her bed she realized it was already close to 10 pm and far too late to call Liz now. "Damn it!" Claire shouted and got up. She needed to find something to eat. And she wanted to find out where exactly Liz lived so she could head over there first thing in the morning. So she got herself fixed a bit and left the hotel to go and find a restaurant so she could do something about her growling stomach. The hotel restaurant was still open so she decided to give the food a go and was quite surprise how good it was.

After dinner Claire got back out to her car to try and find Liz's place. The girl at the front-desk had given her a fairly good description and it didn't take Claire long to find the place. It was a nice little house not far from her hotel and Claire was surprised to see the lights still burning inside the house. 'Can I still knock at that time of day?' she thought to herself but then decided to just take a chance. Who knew if Liz would be home in the morning so maybe this was her only chance to talk to her…

Claire parked the car and walked slowly towards the house. At the door she hesitated one more time. God, why was she here in the middle of the night wanting to talk to Liz Ryan? But then the thought of Alex came into her mind and she knew she had to do it. So she knocked on the door and waited.


	3. Chapter 3

7

_8 months earlier…_

"_Claire, so nice to see you! Tess…" Today was the day of Harry and Liz Ryan's 30th wedding anniversary and they held a huge party at Killarney. Friends and neighbours from the whole district had gathered to celebrate the big day and Liz had outdone herself with the party. Claire and Tess both didn't really feel comfortable there but for totally different reasons. For Claire it was mainly having to dress up and having to talk to people she didn't really know. She was not the right person to do small talk…_

_Tess's reason for being uncomfortable was simply one person…Liz Ryan. Ever since Tess had come home to Drovers Run Liz had made it clear towards her that she didn't like her. Even more since Tess had started to bond with Nick. They were now business partners harvesting organic wheat on Wilgul. Tess didn't really know what she had done to Liz but she knew she was only here because the Ryans couldn't only invite Claire when the whole district was present._

_Liz had sat down drinking tea with some of the other women and Claire and Tess had been forced to sit down as well. The women talked about housework and knitting and Claire rolled her eyes. This was going to be a very long afternoon, VERY long. The men stood in safe distance having a conversation about farming. Claire looked at Alex and when he looked over to her she rolled her eyes again. Alex laughed and mouthed to her "That bad?" and Claire nodded yes. When she turned her attention back to the women's conversation Harry had come up behind Liz petting her shoulders._

"_So tell me Susan, when's your baby due?" Liz asked one of the women in the round._

"_Oh, still 3 more weeks to go." Susan answered. "But they say the first one's never on time so who knows when this one will come!"_

"_Ah yes, yes, that's true. Let's hope they don't have to induce labour, I can still remember how bad that was…"_

_Both Claire and Harry looked really surprised all of a sudden. They both didn't really know if they had heard correctly…_

_Liz realized she had said something she shouldn't have and got up. "Does anybody want another cup of tea?" she asked and was gone before any of the other women could answer. Harry followed her inside._

_Once they had entered the house Harry stopped Liz and asked her "What do you know about inducing labour? I thought Alex was a premature birth…"_

"_I wasn't talking about Alex, I was talking about Nick…" Liz knew she had said too much but still tried to save the situation._

"_No you were not! So this is why you wanted to marry so fast…you were pregnant and needed a father for your child!"_

"_Harry…let me explain.."_

"_NO! Who's the father? It can't be me for sure, we waited…It's that knob you always hung around with. Right?"_

"_Harry, please…"_

"_TELL ME THE TRUTH!"_

"_Harry, I chose you to be Alex's father. Weren't we happy those 30 years?"_

"_You chose me? YOU CHOSE? Where was my choice in all that…you lied to me!"_

_By that time the shouting had gotten so loud that it could be heard outside as well. Alex, Nick, Tess and Claire all headed for the house to see what was wrong. When they entered the living room Liz was crying and Harry had a distant look in his eyes full of anger._

"_Mum, Dad, what's up? What is this all about?" Alex asked._

"_Are you going to tell him or shall I do it?" Harry asked Liz. When she didn't answer Harry looked first at Alex then Nick and the McLeod sisters. "Your mother lied to me for 30 years. She was pregnant when we got married…"_

"_So what?" Alex looked confused. _

"_Not to me! She was pregnant with another man's child…"_

_When the truth began to make its way into Alex's mind he looked at his mother. "Is this true Mum?"_

"_Look, Alex…let me explain…"_

"_I wanna know if it's true!"_

"_Yes…but…"_

_You could see Alex's face drop. Harry was not his father. The man he had fought with and wished he was dead so many times in his life was not his father…_

_Alex ran outside as fast as he could almost knocking Nick over, got in his car and drove off…_

8

Tess sat on the veranda and looked out into the night. What did Claire think when she drove to Fisher? Nothing! She hadn't even called yet so Tess didn't know if she was all right or somewhere wrapped around a tree.

Tess was so caught up in her worries about Claire that she didn't hear Nick's ute pull up. So she jumped when he called her.

"Tess?"

"Nick…oh my god…you just scared the living daylights out of me! What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to Claire, she inside?"

"Claire…HA! Claire has decided she needs to some shopping alone and will be in Fisher over night…Have I mentioned she is alone?"

"Oh…"was all Nick said and looked thoughtful.

"What oh? You know something about this?"

"Well, I might…not sure…"

"Nick? Anything you wanna tell me?"

"I don't know…She called me today and asked me if I knew where Alex is…"

"Don't tell me you told her!"

"No Tess, because I have no clue where he is! But I gave her Mum's phone number and address in Fisher and told her she might know…"

"Nick, you stupid idiot! Shopping! I knew she wouldn't go shopping! She's gone to see your Mum! Jeez Nick, I could kill you!" and with that Tess stormed off and left Nick wondering what on earth he had done wrong this time…

At the same time Claire knocked on Liz's door in Fisher. 'What the hell am I doing here?' she thought and wanted to turn around just as the door opened. Claire looked in Liz's surprised face.

"Claire dear, what are you doing here so late?" Liz asked and then saw Claire's swollen tummy. "You're pregnant!"

"Umm yes. Can I talk to you for a minute Liz?"

"Sure, come in, it's cold out there!"

Claire walked into the house and could see packed boxes everywhere.

"I hear you're moving to Melbourne?"  
"Oh yes, now that the divorce is final I don't really have anything to keep me here."

"What about Nick?"

"Oh, Nick will come and visit me in the city. Claire, why are you here?"

"Liz, do you know where Alex is?"

"Alex? No, sorry dear. I haven't seen him ever since I gave him the papers when I signed his trust fund over…"

"And he didn't mention where he wanted to go?" Claire's hopes faded. Liz had been her last hope of finding Alex.

"Sorry, no. Why do you need to find him?"

"I'm sorry Liz but I can't tell you right now, I just need to find him…I really need to talk to him."

"Well, I'm sorry I can't help you. I wish he would have talked to me properly about what happened…I really thought I had done the right thing…"

"Sorry Liz but I can understand why he's done it. You lied to him about his father his whole life. How is he supposed to feel? Thankful?"

"Claire, you don't understand…I really didn't have a choice back then…"

"Well tell me about it then! Maybe I can explain it to Alex if I ever find him…"

"Alex knows, I told him when he came to get the papers…I even gave him Bryce's address but he still…"

"Hold on, you told him where to find his father?"

"Yes, why?"  
"Because I think I know where he is…"

After Claire had finished talking to Liz she went back to her hotel. With the address of Alex's father in hands she finally had something that gave her a clue where she could find him. She needed to get to Melbourne as soon as she could…

9

_8 months earlier…_

_After Alex had driven off without a word the party came to a sudden end. So Claire decided it was better to go and find Alex before he could get himself into trouble. As she drove past the Killarney sign she found it on the ground, smashed into pieces. _

'_I better hurry to find him…' she thought to herself. But that was harder to do than she thought. _

_She finally found him outside the Gungellan pub with some young girl clinging to his lips and a couple empty bottles of beer at the table next to him._

"_Alex, can we talk?"_

_Alex let go of the girl and looked up. He was definitely not pleased to see her._

"_Wreck off Claire, I don't wanna talk about it…"_

_The girl on Alex's lap gave him a strange look and got up. "I should have known…" she said and walked away._

"_Nice work Claire…"_

"_You alright?"_

"_Yeah, yeah, I'm fine…" Alex moved in his chair and hit some of the bottles on the table causing them to fall down. "Just fine…The old man's not my father, my mother's been lying to me all my life…it's bullshit Claire, it's bullshit…"_

_Claire had sat down on a chair opposite of him and just let him talk._

"_Who is Alex Ryan?" Alex laughed. "He's a nobody, doesn't exist, never did…"_

"_That's crazy Alex, of course you do!"_

_Alex leaned over to Claire now and looked her deep in the eyes. He was crying "What bit is real? Can you tell me?" Their gazes melded as Alex leaned over to Claire and took her face in his hands and kissed her softly. "See, it's bullshit…" he said after he stopped the kiss. When he wanted to get up after that Claire held him back._

"_Alex, come on, it's not bullshit and you know! Come with me…let's go somewhere else. Think you've had enough to drink for today!" Alex looked in her begging eyes and gave in. He didn't know what to do with himself right now but being with Claire felt better than anything else._

"_I don't really wanna go anywhere, can't we just stay here Claire? If we go to any of our places I will have to meet the rest of the lot and I can't deal with anybody right now…"_

"_All right, but I'll get us a room so we can be alone, ok?"_

_Claire got up and walked inside hoping that Alex would still be waiting for her when she came back. But he was still there and got up when Claire waved the keys to the room. They went up there in silence and once they had reached the room and gotten inside Alex just fell into Claire's arms crying like a baby._

"_Sshh, it's ok Alex…just let it out…" she said and led him to the bed to sit down and just held him tight while he cried out all his anger and frustration._

_After a while he looked up and straight into Claire's eyes. Their views once again locked and Alex cupped Claire's face with his hands and kissed her again. Claire knew it was wrong but she just couldn't help but kiss him back. It was such a long time since they had shared their last kiss but Claire still remembered it like yesterday. It felt so right to kiss Alex, nothing had ever felt so right._

_As their kiss got deeper and hungrier Alex started unbuttoning Claire's shirt in deep need to touch her skin. Claire helped him willingly and when he had freed her from the shirt she pulled his shirt off as well. When Claire finally felt Alex's skin on hers she felt like she had come home._

_They got rid of the rest of their clothes and pulled the covers off the bed. There was no stopping them now, they had both waited too long for this. None of them had forgotten what it had felt like to be together and when they finally became one now they felt like they were floating on air nowhere near the ground…_


	4. Chapter 4

10

Claire woke up in her hotel room early next morning. Now that she finally had an idea where she cold find Alex she had been sleeping like a baby. But now it was time to make some plans of what to do next.

Thinking about it she had two options…either drive back to Drovers today and pack a few more things and leave again tomorrow or try and get to Melbourne right away. If she drove home first she would have more clothes and all the rest of the things she needed but it also meant she would have to deal with Tess and Meg. And she was sure they wouldn't want her to go to Melbourne on her own.

If she went to Melbourne right away she could always buy the things she needed there. And she'd not risk being held back by anybody…

So that was her plan, drive down to Melbourne and find Alex. Now she needed to call Tess and break the news to her that she wasn't coming home any time soon…

"Claire, ARE YOU NUTS? You're 8 months pregnant! What if you go into labour and nobody's there? Please come home and we'll sort it out! Please!" Tess was really worried about Claire. Since she had found her in the study 2 days earlier with that shocked look on her face her sister had truly done some really unusual things. It must have been something in those papers…

"Tess I can't, I need to go and find Alex as soon as possible…"

"But why Claire, why now? Couldn't you have gone earlier? Or wait till the baby's born? This is crazy!"

"Tess I can't tell you right now, I need to sort this out with Alex first…he has to know…"

"Claire, I know I've asked you this once and you didn't wanna talk about it but who is the father of your child? Is it Alex?"

"Yes it is and I think I've waited long enough to tell him…"

"Claire, there's more to this! I can hear it in your voice!"

"Tess, please! I really need to talk to Alex but first I need to find him. If he's not in Melbourne I'll come home I promise…Look, I need to get going now or I'll never make it down there. Don't worry sp much, I'll be fine. I'll let ya know when I'm there!"

Having said that Claire hung up.

"Claire? Oh you…" Tess couldn't believe that Claire had just hung up on her. This was not like her at all. What was it that had made Claire do all this? She really didn't know but she was worried sick about her sister…

After Claire had hung up she felt really bad. This was not the way she wanted to treat Tess who had been so supportive since they had found out she was pregnant. She knew Tess was worried about her but she couldn't help it. If she had talked to Tess and longer she would have maybe called off the trip and she couldn't, not now. So she packed up the few things she had brought with her along with some food and water she had bought, got in the car and drove off to Melbourne…

11

_10 years earlier…_

"_Hey McLeod! What's up? What are you doing here?"_

"_What do you think am I doing here Ryan? Milking a cow? I'll participate in the rodeo!"_

"_Yeah right, you want me to wipe your arse again…"_

"_Get away Ryan, when did you ever do that? Anyway, I need to take care of my horse if you don't mind…" Claire walked away. She really didn't know why Alex could always provoke her like that. They had been friends ever since they were kids and could tell each other anything but lately there was also this constant tension between them. Claire wondered where this all came from all of a sudden. If only he didn't always look at her with that strange look in his eyes. What the hell was going on?_

'_Gosh she's beautiful…' That was all Alex could think about as Claire walked away. He didn't know when exactly his feelings for her had changed from best friend to love interest but he knew they definitely had. If only she returned his feelings, it could be so good…_

'_Jeez Alex, get yourself together!' He pulled himself out of his dream world and went on with preparing for his ride later today…_

_Before it was time for Alex's bull riding Claire was up for camp draft. She had trained hard and she was planning on winning this competition. And although Alex should have concentrated on getting ready for his ride he couldn't help but watch Claire's ride. Her and Lightning were a good team and looked like they were flying over the race track. Claire had the best score that day and won the competition much deserved._

_Then it was time for Alex to get up on his bull. Ever since Nick's accident 5 years ago he had become even more reckless than he had been before. As if he wanted to punish himself with having the same thing happen to him. Just as Alex got on his bull he saw Claire standing at the fence and he couldn't help but stare at her. Then the gate opened and the bull got wild. Alex's thoughts were still with Claire so he didn't concentrate on the bull properly and lost his balance. As the bull bucked him off Alex got hit by one of the horns and by 2 bull legs. At first he couldn't breathe and didn't exactly know where he was but then the memory came back and the pain hit him.  
Claire had watched Alex's ride from the fence and when she saw him getting bucked off and being hit she held her breath. "No, Alex…" she whispered and elbowed her way through the crowd to get to him._

_The paramedics had carried Alex out of the round and when Claire finally reached them she could see that Alex was already back up and standing. She felt a ton of rocks drop from her heart but then got really mad at Alex. How could he do this to her? She walked over to him and punched in the shoulder. "Jeez Alex, you could have killed yourself!" she shouted at him and walked away._

_Alex was surprised. Had he just seen tears on her cheeks?_

"_Claire! Wait up!" he called her and followed as quickly as he could. "Claire!"_

_She finally stopped and turned around, her face wet from tears._

"_Claire, why are you crying?"_

"_You could have killed yourself you stupid idiot…"_

"_I'm fine Claire, just a few bruises and a little scratch but I'll survive. Come here, it's all good…" He hugged Claire and when he felt she pulled him closer he put her face up and wiped away her tears "You sound like you do actually care for me…"_

"_Of course I care for you, Ryan! You're my best friend! I don't know what I'd do without you…" Alex could see the worry in Claire's eyes and couldn't resist but kiss her. He knew this would change everything and he still wasn't sure if Claire felt the same but he just had to kiss her. And when Alex felt Claire kissing him back he was in heaven. One thing led to the other and next thing they knew they woke up in each others arms…_

12

Alex stood at the window of his apartment and looked out over the city. He had been here for nearly 8 months but it still didn't feel like home. He missed the country and he missed his brother but most of all he missed Claire.

With a sigh he pulled away from the window. It was time to get dressed properly and head off to work.

After leaving the country and coming to Melbourne he had first lived off the money from his trust fund but soon realized he needed to find something else to make money with or he would have been broke in no time.

At first he had worked at a couple construction sites but that had only been temporary. Then with some help from his new found biological father he had gotten a job at an insurance company. It was nothing special but they paid him good money and he had found something else to do in his spare time, something that he really loved…he was a volunteer worker at a riding club doing therapy riding with disabled children. Every Saturday and Sunday he would spend his time there working with the horses and the children. This was what really kept him here.

13

_8 months earlier…_

_Alex woke up in the middle of the night and felt Claire's presence right away. He couldn't believe he was holding her in his arms again. This was what he had hoped and wished for almost 9 years. Ever since their fist night together after his riding accident…_

_Alex remembered it like it was yesterday._

_And here he was again…and he had done the very same thing. He had slept with Claire without telling her his feelings. It dawned on him that although this had been what they had both wanted it shouldn't have happened._

'_I'm gonna lose her…' were the only thoughts that came to his mind. It hadn't worked out the first time they were together why should it be different now? It had been a miracle that they had managed to become friends again after they had annulled their marriage. And now he had ruined that friendship again._

_Guilt started to creep up in him and he looked at Claire, peacefully asleep next to him. He had to leave…he had to leave right now…_

_A few hours later Alex walked into Wilgul to talk to Nick. He still couldn't talk to Liz or Harry._

"_Hey Nick…guess what…"Alex shouted as he saw his brother._

"_Alex! Where've you been all night?"_

"_Gungellan…guess what!"_

"_What?"_

"_My credit card's not valid anymore and my bank account's empty…I tried to fill up my tank and nothing worked…had to give the rest of my cash…"_

"_Harry…"_

"_Yep, he's cut me off. I'm stuffed…"_

"_Alex…there is a way you know, there's still the trust fund…"_

"_That's not mine, it was set up for tax reasons…"  
"But it's in your name, no matter what it was originally meant for…"_

"_As if Harry's ever going to sign it over…"  
"You know, he's not the only one that can…"_

_Alex looked confused. What was Nick trying to tell him?_

"_Mum can do that, too…"  
"Nick, I don't wanna…"  
"Alex, talk to her, at least this one time. She's in a motel in Fisher…"_

"_Nick leave it, ok? I'll find some other way!"_

_And with that Alex stormed off._

_After driving around for a couple more hours trying to find work somewhere he realized that Harry had done a good job. Nobody would give him a job. I really looked like the trust fund would be his only choice._

_So he swallowed his pride and drove to Fisher to find his mother. When he explained his situation to her they went to the bank right away and she signed the papers that were necessary. The last thing Liz did before Alex drove off was to give him the address of his biological father._

"_Just in case you want to meet him…" She said._

_That same night Alex decided to give it a go and meet his father. What did he have to lose?_


	5. Chapter 5

14

Alex looked on his watch. He was already late for lunch. It was Thursday and that was the day of Alex's weekly meeting with his father. They usually had lunch together somewhere or went for a drink in the early evening. Usually Bryce was the one being late but today it was Alex. He had been caught up with a customer on the phone and had then run into his boss who had given him new orders. But now he had finally made it and looked for Bryce in the restaurant they had chosen this time. When Bryce saw him entering he waved.

"Alex, over here!"

"Ah, Bryce! Sorry, I'm late, work…"

"That's ok, sit down, I've already ordered a beer for you."

"Ah, thanks, just what I need now…"

They looked at their menus and ordered their food and then started talking about what had been going on since last Thursday. Alex would usually tell about what happened on the weekends with 'his kids' as he would call them and Bryce usually talked bout Alex's sisters. Alex still couldn't believe he had 3 sisters! He had never met them so far because they had agreed not to tell Bryce's family.

"Ashley got her exam results today. She passed! I'm so proud of her! She'll carry on the family tradition and I have somebody that'll take over the firm if I don't want to work anymore. Great news, huh?" but Bryce never got an answer. Alex wasn't paying attention to him today. His mind had drifted off to Claire and the wide open spaces at home. 'Wonder what she's doing right now…' he thought and could picture her somewhere on Drovers mustering a couple of sheep. Then he thought about the sunsets over the hills and the cold beers on the veranda. Alex still felt bad about the way he had left Claire without a word of explanation that morning and had long begun to question his action. But there was no way back now…

"Alex? Are you all right?" Bryce's voice brought Alex back into the real world.

"Sorry Bryce, what did you just say?"

"Ashley passed her exam! Where've you been?"

"Nowhere…"

"You've been thinking about your home again, right? And Claire…"

"Yeah…probably…"

"You should do something about it Alex, talk to her! As much as I like having you here I can see you're not happy…"

A couple of months after their first meeting Alex had told Bryce all about Claire and about what had happened between them. He had skipped the marriage part though, that was something that only Claire and Alex knew and he had decided to keep it that way. But Bryce knew everything else.

"What shall I do? I've really stuffed up big time this time. Knowing Claire she won't even talk to me…"

"You could at least give it a try. You'll never know till you give it a chance…"

Alex thought about what Bryce had said. Maybe he was right…

15

_8 months earlier…_

_Alex had been in Melbourne for 3 weeks now and still hadn't had the courage to contact his biological father. Every now and then he would pick up the paper where his mother had written down the address and look at it wondering if he would ever be able to go and meet him. After Alex had left everyone and everything behind he had ever known he felt like a lost soul in an ocean full of people. He needed to find out who he was other than the guy that they all thought he was. And as part of that finding to himself progress he had to pay his biological father a visit._

_So when Alex got up this morning he decided that today was to be the day. He had just finished a job at a construction site and didn't have a new job yet so he had the day off. He tried his best to look nice which wasn't easy since he had only brought a few clothes with him and hadn't really had the money to buy new ones. Once more he looked at the address on the paper. It was his father's law firm and Alex smiled at the thought of his father being a lawyer. So different what he had known all of his life. This was going to be interesting…_

_Once he arrived at the law firm a man with a robe hurried past him and a young woman shouted after him "Bryce, don't forget the folder…" So the man turned around and said "Thanks Ashley, what would I do without you!" and winked at the young woman._

_So this was his father! Bryce Redstaff…_

_Alex sat down on a bench opposite the office and waited for Bryce to come back. When he saw him walking in he waited another 5 minutes till he got up himself and entered the building. He was nervous as hell. It doesn't happen every day that you meet your father for the first time. Inside the building he found the desk empty so he took all his guts together and walked past it right into the office and saw Bryce reading in a folder. Alex cleared his throat._

"_Umm, excuse me, I didn't want to disturb you but there's nobody at the front desk…"_

"_Oh, I think my assistant has some cards laid out there, just help yourself…"_

"_I'm not here for business. This may seem a bit odd to you but my name is Alex Ryan…"_

_Alex looked at Bryce and saw his face light up._

"_Yes, I know who you are. Your mother told me you might come to see me." Bryce smiled and offered Alex his hand. Alex took is gladly._

_Bryce smiled "Shall we go for a walk?"_

"_Sure…"_

_So they left Bryce's office and stepped outside in silence. None of them really knew where to start the conversation. Finally it was Bryce that said the first words._

"_Look Alex, about what happened…I don't want to justify it in any way…but I was married and your mother…"_

"_It's ok Bryce, I know what happened, my mother told me."_

"_Well, your parents did a good job bringing you up without my help. What can I say, I'm not exactly sure what it is you expect me to do now…"_

"_Oh, a million dollars would be nice, I'm jobless right now…" Alex said. Slowly he got his self conscience and his wittiness back._

"_Oh…"_

"_I'm just kidding, I just wanted to know who you are."_

"_Well, I'm glad you came…"_

_Suddenly Alex felt the need to ask Bryce a question._

"_Do you have any other children?" besides me he added in his thoughts._

_Bryce smiled. "Yes, I have 3 daughters. Ashley, the youngest works in the office…"_

_So the young woman Alex had seen earlier today was his sister! Alex was overwhelmed, he had a whole other family he had never known off…_

"_Wow, 3 sisters…that's a shock!"_

_Bryce's face got serious. "Look Alex. Nobody knows about you…maybe we should just keep it that way for a while…" he said and then changed the subject fast "Maybe I could help you with a job if you want to."_

16

Claire was only a few hours away from Melbourne now. The trip had taken longer than she had thought, over a week. She couldn't drive as long and as fast as she had hoped because she had to stop too often because she needed to pee. Bloody pregnancy! At the moment she just wanted it to be over and the baby out of her but at the same time she wanted Alex to know about the baby before it was born. Claire thought back to the morning after her wonderful night with Alex. She had woken up with a smile on her face but that smile had faded quickly when she saw that Alex wasn't beside her and that his side of the bed was cold. She had thought that she had gotten his thoughts off the whole father issue but it didn't seem like that now. She had gotten dressed and had driven straight to Wilgul in the hope to find Alex there. But no luck on that end. She had talked to Nick and he had told her that Harry had cut off Alex from all his money and that Alex was now looking for a job somewhere else. With sinking hope to find him she had driven home. A couple weeks later she had found out that she was pregnant with Alex's child.

A smile appeared on her face as she thought about the baby and about the fact that her and Alex were still married. This was just too funny. At first she had been shocked but now she just liked the thought of it and really hoped Alex would like it too. She really needed him back, maybe this time everything would be all right…

17

_10 years earlier…_

"_Alex, could we meet somewhere? We need to talk!" Claire was on the phone with Alex and sounded really serious._

"_Everything all right Claire?" Alex was a little worried. He hadn't really seen Claire since the day they woke up in each others arms._

"_Not exactly but I don't want to talk about it here where they can all hear me…"_

"_All right…how about the dam? Don't think anybody will bother us there…"_

"_Ok, so I'll meet you at the dam in an hour…"_

"_I'll be there…"_

_An hour later Claire was nervously waiting for Alex at the dam. When she saw him riding up on his horse her heart skipped a beat only to go on with twice the speed it had had before. Gosh he looked good…_

"_Hey Alex!" she said when he had reached her._

"_Claire…what's wrong? You sounded serious on the phone…"_

"_Let's sit down in the shade first, I'm not feeling all that well…"_

"_Claire, you really got me worried here!"_

"_Come on, I'll tell you"_

_They walked over to one of the trees and Claire sat down leaning against the trunk. Alex took a seat opposite of her and looked at her expectedly. Claire had thought about what to say but had decided to just come out with the truth. She could still see where she would go from there._

"_Alex…well…I'm pregnant…I took a test 2 days ago and it came out positive…"_

"_WHAT? Who is the guy? I'm gonna punch his lights out!" Alex had jumped up and was really mad. Claire couldn't help but laugh. This was so Alex…_

"_Will you sit down again Alex Ryan and let me explain so even you understand it…" Alex looked confused but did as he was told._

"_Remember that last Rodeo we were at? Where you had that accident? And we…well you know what we did that night, don't you? You are the one that got me pregnant Alex…"_

"_Ooooh…" was all Alex could say as the truth hit him. Guilt hit him…and he knew right away they were in deep trouble._

"_What are we gonna do now?" he asked Claire looking on the ground. He couldn't look in her eyes right now._

"_I don't know Alex, I really don't know…" Claire felt her eyes filling up with tears. Since their night together she had dreamed about what a life with Alex would be like, she had even thought about their future children but that had been something in the far future and not a given fact in the present._

_Alex brain worked and worked. He knew he had stuffed up and there was only one way to fix this…_

"_Claire…I know you might not wanna hear this but…would you marry me?"_

"_What?" Claire looked at him confused. She secretly had hoped for that but would have never thought that Alex really considered it._

_Alex took that more as a no on her side and started to explain "I know this is not how people usually decide they wanna get married but I really think this is the best way. I mean…we're mates, we like each other and…I just think it would be the right thing to do…Claire?"_

_Claire had started smiling at his explanation. He was too cute trying to fix something that couldn't really be fixed._

"_It's ok Alex, I think it is a good idea…"_

_When Alex heard those words a smile formed in his face and he hugged Claire and kissed her long and deep…this felt so good._

_They decided to keep all this a secret till they were legally married and planned their wedding for 5 weeks later when they were both at a Rodeo about 3 hours away from home…_


	6. Chapter 6

18

Claire had finally reached the outskirts of Melbourne. She had called a hotel and booked a room from the motel she had stayed last night. The hotel had given her a rough description of how to find them but it had been almost 15 years since Claire had last been here and she had never driven a car in Melbourne. She tried to follow what the boy at the motel desk had written down but it was hard to drive, read the note and pay attention to the traffic she was not used to. After about 20 minutes of driving in the city Claire was completely lost. Worst of all her bladder was starting to tell her that it needed emptying soon…

'Damn, why didn't I buy that bloody map yesterday…" she thought to herself still trying to figure out if she was anywhere close to her hotel. But she had just entered an area of nice small houses that didn't look at all like there would be a hotel anywhere near…

Another 10 minutes later Claire couldn't stand the pressure on her bladder anymore. She just had to find a loo somewhere…or even a bush would do. Just something!

As she drove by one of the houses she saw an elderly lady in the front yard working on her flowers. So she stopped the car and got our as quickly as she could.

"Umm… Ma'am…I'm sorry to bother you…"

The lady looked up "Oh dear, did your water break? Do you need an ambulance?"

Claire laughed "No, no, it's not that. Actually I only need a toilet desperately and I'm lost finding my hotel…"

"Oh, you can use my bathroom! Come on, I'll show you where it is!" With that the lady took Claire's hand and led her inside the house. Claire really liked the interior of the house. It spread a warm atmosphere and Claire could even imagine living in a house like that.

"Here we are dear, jus feel like you're home. I'll make us a cup of tea in the meantime."

"Thank you very much but it's really not necessary…"  
"Oh it'd be a pleasure dear, I don't have all that many visitors. And we can try to find out how you can find the way to your hotel."

"Well, thanks then…"

When Claire was finished in the bathroom the tea was already waiting for her in the back garden. And along with it there were some gorgeous smelling chocolate biscuits. Claire's stomach began to grumble she hadn't eaten anything since she had left the motel this morning and it was already 4 pm!

"Sit down dear and have a cup of tea. I'm Edna by the way. I don't even know your name yet…"

"Oh, sorry, I'm Claire, Claire McLeod."

"What brings you to the city then Claire?"

"Long story but basically I'm looking for somebody…"

"Oh, I see…"

In the next hour Claire told Edna everything that had happened. It felt good to talk about it with somebody who had not a given opinion about everything. Then they took Edna's road map and looked up the way to Claire's hotel. They found out it was not all that far away so Edna decided Claire could stay and have something proper to eat before she headed for her hotel. Claire really liked the old woman, she had made her feel welcome right away and hadn't judged Claire even after she had told her story.

When it was already starting to get dark outside Claire finally got back into her car together with boxes filled with the rest of Edna's great dinner and her road map. "Once you've found your Alex you can always bring the boxes back to me. The address is written on the bottom of each box" Edna had said.

This time Claire found her hotel without a problem and was glad to finally be able to put up her feet. Once her head hit the bed she fell asleep right away and even forgot to call Tess…

19

_10 years earlier…_

_Their wedding ceremony was short and simple. Alex had gotten a set of really nice looking wedding rings and Claire guessed they must have cost him quite a bit of money. Claire had decided before the wedding that this was one of the rare occasions to wear a dress and that had made Alex gasp for air as she had walked down the aisle._

_After the ceremony was over the registrar took a picture of them in front of some beautiful flowers that made Claire feel sick because they smelled so strong. And then it was over…they were married, officially husband and wife. Claire couldn't help but smile at the thought. And Alex looked pretty happy himself._

_They spent the day wandering around town holding hands, not really recognizing what was going on around them. Reality could kick back in the next day, this was their day together…and night.  
Alex had gotten them a hotel room and had organized some people to look after their stuff at the rodeo site. They were both signed in to participate the next day but tonight they didn't care about sleep, they only cared about being together._

_None of them got much sleep that night so when it was time for Claire to ride in her camp draft the next day she really had a hard time concentrating on her horse and everything else she needed to do. When she rode into the circuit she really had to remind herself to stay focussed. She picked out the beast and shouted "Open" and then the gate opened and her and Lightning flew out haunting the beast around the court._

_And then it happened…_

_Claire took a very tight turn on Lightning afraid to lose the beast but with her tired and not concentrated mind she hadn't fixed her saddle properly before her ride. So in that tight turn the saddle started to slide and Lightning lost his balance and buried Claire under him…_

_Alex had watched the whole scene from the fence and was horrified. 'Oh no, Claire…' he thought and tried to get to her as quickly as he could, jumping over the fence._

_Claire's head had hit the floor hard when she fell and she was still unconscious when Alex and the paramedics arrived at the same time. They carried her out of the circuit and after a quick examination decided she needed to be taken to hospital right away. Before they left Alex told them that Claire was pregnant. He wanted to stay with her but knew he had to take care of Lightning first so he followed the ambulance later with his own car._

_When he finally arrived at the hospital Claire had already been examined but she still hadn't woken up._

_Alex sat beside her bed holding her hand with tears in his eyes. Slowly Claire began to open her eyes._

"_Alex?"_

"_I'm here Claire, I'm here?"_

"_What happened?"_

"_I don't know actually…Lightning lost his balance and buried you under him…"_

_Just in this moment the doctor walked into the room._

"_Ah, Ms McLeod, I see you're finally awake…"_

"_Doc, is she alright?" Alex was worried sick about Claire._

"_She is, apart from some bruises and a minor concussion she's fine."_

"_What about the baby?" Claire asked._

"_Well, that horse was pretty heavy as well as your fall so I'm sorry to tell you that the baby didn't survive…"_

"_NOOO!" Claire started crying and fell into Alex's arms "Not the baby…" She was devastated._

_Alex didn't know what to do. Claire was crying in his arms and he wanted to ease her pain but he felt like crying himself. This was not fair, why was this happening to them?_

"_We'll keep you here for a day or two Ms McLeod, but you should take it easy the next 2 weeks." The doctor said and touched Claire's shoulder before he left the room._

"_Why Alex…why the baby?"_

"_Claire…I…this is not fair…" Alex said and felt tears running down his cheek. "Claire, I need to call your Dad and tell him what happened…"_

"_Don't tell him about the baby…or about us…please Alex, I can't deal with that now…" Claire's eyes begged him._

"_Ok I won't but we need to tell him one day…"_

"_Not now…" Claire's view got empty as Alex left the room to call Jack. This was not right…this was just not right…_

20

Tess got up in the morning after a more or less sleepless night. Claire hadn't called the evening before and she was worried sick about her. What if she had had an accident or gone into labour alone in the middle of nowhere?

'Damn…Claire!' Tess thought "Why did you have to drive to Melbourne all alone? The was the most stupid idea you ever had…"

She got dressed and went to the stables to milk Madonna before breakfast. When she came back to the kitchen after that, Meg was already finished fixing the meal and put a plate in front of Tess.

"Did Claire make it to Melbourne all right?" she asked before she saw the worried look on Tess's face.

"She didn't call Meg…and I don't know which hotel she's staying at! She didn't bother to tell me. What of something happened to her? What if she's somewhere in a hospital and nobody knows who she is?"

"Tess…maybe it was just too late to call when she got there. She'll be fine, I would feel it if there was something wrong with her…"

"Meg! She knows I would stay up till she calls. She'd do the same. There MUST be something wrong!" Tess started to cry.

"I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for it Tess…" Just as Meg went over to hug Tess, Nick walked in.

"Morning ladies…" he said and smiled. But that smile faded as he saw Tess crying in Meg's arms.

"What's wrong? Anything happen to Claire?"

"We don't know…" Meg said and looked at him. Tess couldn't speak. "She didn't call last night…"

"Oh…" was all Nick said. He felt sorry for Tess because he knew how close the two sisters had gotten in those 3 years since Tess's return.

"Tess" Nick said then "I'm sure everything's all right. She probably just forgot to call…"

"How can she forget when she knows I'm waiting for the call?" Tess sobbed and looked at him angrily.

"Well…she's Claire…"

That was the moment the telephone rang…

Tess jumped up and with the third ring she answered the phone.

"Claire, where the hell are you?" She shouted into the phone before the person on the other line even had a chance to say something. Luckily it was Claire. Of all mornings in her life she had chosen this day to sleep in…till 7:30…

"Jeez…Good Morning Tess, I'm glad to speak to you too!" she said.

"Claire, do you have any idea how worried I am right now? Why didn't you call last night?"

"I'm sorry Tess. I got lost when I reached Melbourne and when I finally found the hotel I was so tired I fell asleep right away." She didn't tell Tess about the afternoon with Edna, that would have upset her only more…

"Don't you EVER do that to me again Claire McLeod…You hear me? Now…tell me, have you found him yet?" Tess finally calmed down a little and was now curious about what Claire might have found out so far.

"Tess, I just got here last night. What should I have found out since then?" Claire rolled her eyes. She was good but not that good…That was so Tess!

"I've got the addy of his father's office and I've got a map now so I think I'll give that a try today. Other than that I have no clue where to look…"

They went on to talk about what had happened on Drovers and what needed to be done today and finally hang up with Tess being relieved and Claire getting nervous about her excursion today…

21

_10 years earlier…_

_After Alex had called Claire's Dad he went back to her room. Jack had been shocked when he heard about the accident and had promised to come right away but it was still a long drive._

_When Alex entered the room he found Claire sleeping so he just sat down next to her held her hand realizing she had taken her wedding ring off. 'Maybe she had to take it off for the examination…' he thought and rested his head on her bed. After their almost sleepless night he was tired as well and it didn't take long until he was sound asleep…_

_That was the way Jack found them when he arrived at the hospital 3 ½ hours later. Silently he walked in and first woke Alex up who said "Just 5 more minutes and I'm right there…" until he realized he was not at home. "Oh, Mr McLeod, you're here…"_

"_Hello Alex, how is she?"_

"_She'll be alright…" was all Alex could say because he remembered his promise to Claire not to say anything about the baby or their marriage._

_By this time Claire had woken up from all the talking in her room and when she saw her father she started crying. "Dad…" she sobbed and Jack went over to her and took her in his arms. _

"_Are you all right sweetheart?" he asked "What happened?" In the strong arms of her father Claire calmed down enough to talk._

"_I don't know what happened really, Lightning slipped and I got under him…I don't know…Dad, can you take me home?"_

"_Sure I will darling. As soon as the docs let you out of here…"_

"_I only have some bruises and a concussion…"Claire didn't want him to know about the miscarriage. She had told her doctor not to tell anybody. The baby wasn't there anymore and since nobody had known about it in the first place they sure didn't need to know about it now that it was gone…_

_Alex had slipped out of the room. He felt useless and redundant now that Jack was there and he feared that the truth might slip out of him if he stayed with Claire any longer. Why didn't she want to tell anybody about their marriage?_

_The doctors kept Claire at the hospital for another 2 days, then Jack was allowed to take her home. Poor Alex felt like he was put in a corner all this time. Since Claire didn't want to tell anybody about their marriage and he had promised not to say anything he could hardly ever see her. And it even got worse after Claire was home. She stayed in her room for most of the next week and wouldn't even come to the phone when he called…_

_Claire knew she wasn't treating Alex right but she couldn't help it. She felt so guilty about losing the baby. It was all her fault. She knew she shouldn't have done that rodeo being pregnant but she had wanted it so badly because she had known it would have been her last one. And now she killed her unborn child. And worst of all she had trapped Alex into this marriage. She needed to end this as soon as possible…_


	7. Chapter 7

22

When Claire had finally found Bryce's office she stood outside still no sure if she should go in or not. She had thought about what to say 100 times but still wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do. What if Alex had never contacted his father and Bryce knew nothing about his son?

'Well McLeod, you won't know till you go in there and talk to him!' she thought to herself and entered the building.

"Good morning Miss, can I help you?" a young woman behind the front desk asked Claire.

"Umm, I need to talk to Mr Redstaff please…" Claire wasn't really sure what to tell the woman. If nobody here knew about Alex this could cause a huge chaos.

"He's not here right now but he should be back in about an hour. Maybe I can help you?"

"I don't think so…it's personal and I'm not even sure Mr Redstaff can help me. Look, could I come back here in an hour?"

"Of course, I will let him know you were here, Miss…?"

"Oh umm, he won't know my name. I…umm…will be back in an hour…" Claire quickly said, turned around and left the building.

'Well, what do I do now?' she thought and walked down the street. Maybe she could go and look for some baby things while she was in town anyway, she didn't have all that much at home yet…

After a tiring hour of walking through the city trying to find some baby things Claire decided that shopping was definitely not her kind of thing. Not that she hadn't known that before…

Once more she stood in front of Bryce's office and wondered what to tell him.

"Ah…Miss…Mr Redstaff just came back 5 minutes ago. You can have a seat, he'll have time for you soon. Can I offer you something to drink while you wait?"

"All right, thanks…umm…just some water will do…"

So the young woman left Claire to get some water.

When Bryce walked out of his office he saw Claire sitting there waiting. He knew right away who she was, Alex had shown him quite a few pictures of Claire. He wondered what she wanted here but as he walked closer he saw that Claire was pregnant.

"Ms McLeod?" he said when he reached Claire and looked in a very surprised face.

"You know who I am?" Claire was stunned. That was the last thing she had expected.

"Yes, I do know who you are. Why don't we go into my office so we can talk…Ah thanks Ashley." He said as the young woman brought Claire's water. "No calls now, please…"

Claire followed Bryce into his office where he offered her a seat and sat down opposite of her.

"Mr. Redstaff…" Claire started "I'm a little confused because you seem to know who I am…" She looked at him looking for an answer.

Bryce smiled. "Yes, I can see that. Well, there's a simple explanation…since you're here you probably already know that I'm Alex's biological father…" Claire nodded. "Yes, his mother told me…"

"Alex contacted me about 7 months ago and we have been in contact ever since. He's talked a lot about his life so far and he's also mentioned you a few times. And he showed me pictures." You could see the relief on Claire's face. So Bryce knew about Alex and it sounded like he knew where he was…

"Mr Redstaff, I'm here to find Alex. Do you know where he is? I really need to talk to him…"

"Yes, I do know where he is…what do you need to talk to him about?"

"Sorry, but that's just something between Alex and me…"

"All right…I don't exactly know where he is today, probably at work, but I can tell you where you can find him tomorrow."

Bryce wrote something down on a paper and handed the note to Claire. She read what he had written down and smiled.

"A pony club?" she asked.

"It seems he can't stay away from those 4 legged animals…Just go there tomorrow around 10 am. He will be there…and send him my greetings!"

"Thank you Mr Redstaff, thank you so much…"

"Tell Alex to let me know what happens…"

Then they said their goodbyes and Claire walked out of the office on cloud 9…she had found Alex!

23

_10 years earlier_

_After Claire had made the decision to end her marriage with Alex she wanted to do it as quickly as she could and ordered the necessary papers. It was only fair towards Ale, he had only married her because she was pregnant and now that the baby was no longer there he had the right to be free again. Claire felt tears run down her cheek once more. That always happened when she thought about the baby. Not telling anybody was harder than she had thought. There were times when she really had to hold herself back not to tell Meg. She was like a mother to her and Claire just wanted to be held tight. But it wasn't possible._

_A few days later Claire had the papers in her hands. She sighed. She had to call Alex and tell him to meet her. They hadn't spoken for over 2 weeks now and Claire didn't know how he would react._

"_Killarney, Nick speaking…"_

"_Hey Nick, Claire here…I need to speak to Alex please."_

"_Hold on, I'll get him for you!" Claire could hear Nick putting down the receiver and shouting for Alex._

"_Claire?"_

"_Hi Alex…umm…could you come here? I need to talk to you…"_

"_Sure Claire, I'll be right there…"_

_Before Claire could say anything else Alex had hung up. So she went outside to wait for him, she didn't want to do this inside and risk that somebody would hear them._

'_There he is…' she thought as she saw is car drive up._

"_Alex, we need to talk…" she said before he could say anything._

_After Alex had handed her the signed papers he clearly didn't look happy. He jumped in his car and drove off and Claire stood there in a dust cloud with the papers in her hand. So this was it, this was the end of her marriage. Claire felt the tears on her cheeks again and walked inside. She needed an envelope and a stamp to send this off so she didn't have to see it for longer than necessary._

_Claire went into the study and found what she was had come for. Before she put the papers in the envelope she took one more look at them and then wrote the address on it and added the stamp. Just as she was finished she heard somebody storming in the house shouting for her. As quickly as she could she got the envelope in one of the boxes that were on the desk._

"_Claire?" She heard Meg again. "Where are you?"_

"_I'm in the study Meg. What's wrong?"_

"_Claire, it's your Dad…I think he's had a heart attack…We need to get him to the hospital as quickly as we can…"_

_The next hours went by without Claire really noticing. They had taken Jack to the hospital where he was examined and Meg, Claire and little Jodi were waiting. A few hours later it was clear that Jack had had a minor heart attack but he would fully recover. Claire promised him to take care of Drovers till he was fine again._

_But with all this new stress in her life and with her worries about Jack Claire just forgot about the papers at the bottom of the box…_

24

The day after Claire had spoken to Bryce she got up early and had a long shower. Today was the day she would see Alex again. She was nervous. How would he react when he found out she was pregnant and hadn't told him yet. Claire had decided to tell him about the pregnancy first and leave the news about their marriage for some time later. When Claire got out if the shower and looked through the clothes she had with her she sighed. There was not really anything she would want to wear for her meeting with Alex. She finally chose one of the dresses Tess had bought for her, a nice wide summer dress with flowers on them. She put it on and looked in the mirror and frowned 'Well McLeod' she thought 'He'll know right away you're pregnant. Let's hope he sees clearer this time…" She smiled at the thought of her last pregnancy announcement to Alex. Back then he had been excited after the first shock so she really hoped he would feel the same this time…

Claire got herself ready and on her way to the address Bryce had given her. A pony club! Claire laughed, what the heck did Alex do with ponies?

A few hours later Alex was brushing off one of the ponies in the stables. He had just finished a therapy hour with a little boy and still had a little time till the next little patient would show up. It was Julie, a 10 year old girl with Down syndrome and she was one of Alex's favourites. She always made his day better with her beautiful smile and her positive attitude on life. No matter how bad her day had been she always smiled when she saw the ponies.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't hear that somebody had entered the stables and now stood behind the closed gate of the box.

"Hey Ryan, you need to shrink the horses now so you can handle them?" he heard a voice behind him and when he turned around he looked into a very familiar face

Claire was glad that the box was closed and Alex could only see her face and parts of her upper body. He hadn't realized she was pregnant yet.

"Claire…" Alex said and smiled. "Didn't expect to see you here…" He turned his attention back to the pony

"Well, that's not really my fault now, is it? You were sure hard to find…" Claire got nervous. Although Alex had shown a little smile when he saw her she wasn't sure if he was really happy to see her here.

"Alex, can we talk? There's something I need to tell you…" she then said because he was still brushing off the pony and didn't look at her.

"Claire, this is not a good time. I only have 10 minutes left before my next customer will be here…" Alex put the brush away and walked over to the door where Claire was standing. Claire slipped into the neighbouring box that was empty and Alex opened the box and walked to another box where a bigger pony was waiting.

"If you wanna come back in an hour…I should be finished then" He said without turning around and left Claire in the stables alone.

Claire was surprised. This was definitely not the reaction she had expected…

Alex took Daisy out of her box and let her out of the stables to saddle her up for Julie. He was still surprised to see Claire here. Why was she here? What did she want? Why had it taken her so long to come here? 'Get yourself together Ryan, you got a 10 year old sunshine waiting…'Alex thought and walked away.

Claire didn't know what to do with herself in the next hour. The pony club was too far outside of the city centre to go there and there was just nothing reasonable to do here. So she decided to watch Alex from a safe distance. She really wanted to find out what he was doing here. So she left the stables and found a place where she could sit down and watch the training circuit without Alex noticing her right away. 'There he is…' she thought as Alex walked around the corner with a bigger pony in tow. Then a car pulled up and a woman got out with a little girl on her hand. Even from the distance Claire could see that the girl had trouble walking. What exactly did Alex do here?

When the therapy hour with Julie was almost over Alex suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine. He knew Claire had just walked up to the training area. He didn't want to look at her just now so he turned his attention back to Julie. "Well my little sunshine, we're finished for today. Let's get you off that pony!" Julie didn't agree, as always "Noooo, want more!" She said and looked at Alex with begging eyes. Sometimes Alex would give in and give her another 5 minutes but not today. He knew he needed to talk to Claire. "Sorry Julie, not today. Look, your Mum is already waiting for you…" he said and put the girl on the ground.

Claire had watched the scene as she walked closer. This girl had Down syndrome! She could clearly see that now. So Alex did some kind of charity work here! Claire's heart warmed at the thought. If she hadn't known she wanted him back she would surely know it now! With a smile on her face she stepped up to the fence of the circuit.

When Alex had finally said goodbye to Julie he turned around and yes, there was Claire, leaning against the fence. Was she wearing a dress? He took a closer look and walked towards her. Then he saw it…"You're pregnant!" he shouted out…

25

_10 years earlier…_

_After Alex had signed the annulment papers he just wanted to get away. He would never understand women! NEVER! _

"_You will NEVER see me again!" He shouted and drove off without taking another look at Claire. He was too mad at her. What was this all about? He had really thought Claire loved him but now it looked like she didn't. Alex felt the tears running down his cheek. He had wanted Claire ever since he first laid eyes on her but now it was all over before it really began._

_Since he didn't want his parents or his brother to see him in this state Alex just drove around in his car with no particular place in mind. He finally ended up in Gungellan and once he was there he headed straight for the pub. He was still mad at Claire and if she didn't want him maybe some other girl would._

"_Give me a beer Brian!" He shouted as he entered the pub "And keep them coming…I need LOTS tonight!"_

_He sat down at the bar where his beer was already waiting and drank it in one swallow. "Ah, that's good! Better than any woman out there…"_

"_What happened Alex? Got dumped?" Brian asked with a smirk and handed Alex a new glass._

"_Sorta…"Alex made it clear he didn't wanna talk about it. That was the minute the door opened and Jennifer, Susan and Karen walked in the pub. They were known as Gungellan's "easy girls"._

_Alex face lit up. "Girls" he said "Wanna have a shot" and pointed over to the pool table. The 3 girls looked at each other and nodded "Why not?" Jen said._

_Countless beers and pool games later Jen and Susan were gone and it was just Karen and Alex left. Alex had drowned his sorrow over Claire and Karen was only too willing to hook up with the famous Alex Ryan. They took off together and ended up in the middle of nowhere making out in the back of Alex's ute…_


	8. Chapter 8

26

Alex was still in a state of shock. Claire was pregnant! Questions ran through his head. Was it his? When was she due? Boy or girl?

"Alex, everything all right?" He heard Claire's voice through his thoughts "Yes, I am pregnant but could we go somewhere else to talk? I really need to sit down I think…"

"Yeah, ok. Umm, there's a nice café not too far from here, not very busy…"  
"Café sounds nice, I need a loo, too"

So they got in Alex's car in silence. Alex had to look at Claire's tummy every now and then still not believing what he saw. She looked so big!

When they reached the café a couple minutes later Alex looked for a nice table a bit away from any of the other guests while Claire headed straight to the bathroom.

When she came back there was already a cup of tea waiting for her. "Ah, that's great Alex, thanks…" Claire said as she sat down as gracefully as she could.

"Claire, it's really good to see you here…" Alex started and took Claire's hand. "But I think you need to answer some questions…"

"Getting straight to the point Ryan." Claire smiled. He hadn't changed all that much. He looked a little different, his hair shorter in a nice cut, shaved, not as much tan as he used to have, more city like in general. But other than that he still seemed to be Alex, her best mate.

"How far along are you?" Alex just needed to know if it was his child, if he had done it to her again.

"I'm 8 ½ months pregnant Alex and before you start jumping to any conclusions again like 10 years ago, yes, it's yours." She looked straight in his face to see his reaction.

Alex heard Claire's words but it took a while till they really hit him. Claire was pregnant…with his child. Again...The first quite happy look on his face turned to guilt. He had done it again. He got her pregnant again without being married to her.

"I'm so sorry Claire, I…umm…should have used some protection that night…"

"Alex Ryan, what are you trying to tell me? You don't want the baby?" Claire didn't know what Alex wanted. At first he had looked happy but then his face had lost its entire colour.

"Well, if that's the case I'm sorry I bothered you…" she said angrily and wanted to get up.

"Claire!" Alex put his hand on her arm to stop her from running away. "That's not what I meant…I'm sorry I got you pregnant again just because I wasn't thinking clearly. That doesn't mean I don't want the baby…not at all!" There was this gorgeous smile again all over his face. "We having a boy or a girl?" He then asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

"You're a complete mystery to me! You know that?" Claire was relieved now that Alex seemed to want to know about the baby. "First of all…that night wasn't your fault at alone, if I hadn't wanted it, it wouldn't have happened. Second of all…it wasn't even a fault if you ask me, I'm quite happy about the baby now. And third of all…I don't know if it's a boy or a girl, you couldn't see during the ultrasound…"

"Claire, I'm so sorry for leaving you alone when you probably needed me most…" Alex still felt guilty. He couldn't help it.

"You didn't know Alex. And I can understand why you left…" Claire took Alex's hand and looked him deep in the eyes. "Would you come home with me now? I really wanna have the baby at home and I want you there with me…"

Alex kept their eyes locked "There's nothing I would rather do…" With that he leaned over and kissed Claire softly. This was what he had wanted to do for 8 months now…

When he finally let go of Claire he finally realized something "By the way McLeod, how did you find me? I thought nobody at home knew where I was?"

Claire laughed "Long story Alex…very long story." She said and then all of a sudden felt really tired. "Could you maybe take me back to my hotel? I've been up on my feet half the morning and they really could use a rest."

Alex looked at her and smiled "Under one condition…you tell me the story how you found me on the way…" he said with a smirk.

"Deal!" Claire said and got up. On the way back to the city she told Alex about Nick and Liz and Bryce and her drive to Melbourne. She also told him that Liz was now here as well which only got her an undefinable sound from Alex.

Once they reached her hotel room Claire lay down on the bed and fell asleep almost instantly while Alex sat on the bed next to her holding her hand and rubbing her stomach with the other hand. He was going to be a daddy soon…

27

When Claire woke up again she felt Alex's presence immediately. He was curled up behind her, sound asleep himself as it seemed. He had one of his hands on her shoulder, the other was resting on her tummy. She could feel the baby move inside her and smiled. This was such an amazing feeling. If only Alex was awake, he could feel it too…

Then she felt Alex move behind her and whispering in her ear "What time is it?" still half asleep.

Claire laughed "It's almost 5:30 and if you woke up properly Ryan you could feel the baby move..."

Alex was now fully awake, his hand still on Claire's stomach as he felt a soft kick. And there was another one. Alex smile got broader and broader and finally he said. "Wow, quite active our little one! Think we have the next footie star in there…" He rose up on his elbow and started talking to Claire's tummy "You will be a footie player, won't you son?" He asked with a seriousness on his face that made Claire laugh.

"It'll be a girl…" she said.

"I thought you didn't know!"

"Well, I don't…but I can feel it!"

"Ah McLeod, we'll see…I'm sure it is a boy!" Claire turned around and looked him straight in his eyes. She was getting serious now.

"Alex, when can we go home? I really don't wanna be here in Melbourne too long. The longer I stay the harder it'll be to get back home…"

"I've thought about this while you were asleep. I can't just take off like that. I have a job here and I have an apartment. I'll need to sort things out first."

Claire's hopes for a speedy return to Drovers Run sank at his words. But he was right though, he couldn't just run away like that.

"What I probably can do is take some time off. I haven't had any holiday since I started working there and I'm sure I can get at least two weeks off. But I'll need a couple days to get it all fixed so what would you think about going home in a week from now?"

Claire nodded "That's ok I guess, the baby's not due for another 3 weeks so I guess we still have enough time to drive home…" And with Alex driving they would probably be a lot faster than she had been coming down here.

"So Claire, what do we do with you then? You wanna stay here at the hotel or would you maybe come with me to my place till we head home?" Alex wasn't sure about her answer so he looked at her questioning.

Claire hadn't really thought about what she wanted to do once she found Alex plus she still needed to tell him about their marriage but for now she made a decision…

"I think I should come and stay with you…I mean…just in case there's something wrong with the baby, you know?"

"The baby…uh, sure. Let's get your stuff together then and get you to my apartment. You'll have to follow me in your car though, do you think you can manage?"  
"Alex, I found my way to the hotel, didn't I?" she hadn't told him about getting lost and meeting Edna yet. She'd leave that for later but knew she had to bring the boxes and the map back and would need Alex's help for that.

So they packed Claire's things and checked her out of the hotel, which wasn't easy to do at almost 6:30 pm so they ended up paying another night.

Once they had gotten to Alex's apartment Claire was really surprised how clean it was. She took a look around, no dirty laundry, no dirty dishes, not all that much dust. She was impressed. "You found your feminine site, Ryan. This place is cleaner than Drovers after Meg's gone through!"

"Well, I'm full of surprises, aren't I?" He smiled and winked at her, not telling her that Saturday was the day his cleaning woman came to make this place look good as new…

28

"So Alex, is there anything in your fridge a hungry, pregnant woman could eat?" Claire walked over to the fridge and opened it only to find it almost empty. "What the heck have you been living off these past months?" She shook her head and smiled, some things would never change.

"Delivery service, one of the advantages of living in the city." Alex winked at her and added "What do you feel like, Italian, Chinese? Let me know and I'll get us something decent to eat."

"Well, I think I feel like Chinese today…" Claire said and 10 minutes later they had ordered the food and Claire excused herself to go to the bathroom.

While they were eating Claire suddenly remembered Edna's boxes and her map. She needed to take them back to her but was sure she'd never find the way again. So she asked Alex "Hey, what are your plans for tomorrow? Anything special?"

"No, actually I had planned to have a nice day at home with only the TV and myself but that was before you showed up…" He smiled "Which I don't mind at all…"

"Well, that's good…umm, would you like to take me somewhere?"

"What do you have in mind Claire?" Alex was confused. Claire hadn't been to the city in years and she was not really the type of woman who would enjoy sightseeing, especially so far along in her pregnancy.

"I need to take some things I borrowed back to a very nice old lady…" And then Claire told him about Edna and how she got lost when she reached Melbourne. Alex couldn't help but laugh.

"Sure we can go there tomorrow but don't you think you should call her first and let her know we're coming?"

"You're probably right…do you have a phonebook?" While Claire looked for Edna's number and then made her phone call Alex realized they hadn't talked about their sleeping arrangement yet. He only had one bed in his small apartment and the couch was definitely too small for him to sleep on. But he wasn't sure if Claire would be willing to share a bed with him.

Claire hung up and smiled. "Edna's expecting us for lunch tomorrow."

"Ok, sounds nice, I haven't had home cooked lunch in quite a while. Umm…Claire, I don't know if you've noticed but…I only have one bed in here…"

"And?"

"Well, we haven't talked about it yet…I mean…I don't know if you…" Why was this so hard? Alex always seemed lost for words when it came to seriously talking to Claire.

"Are you trying to ask me if you could share the bed with me?" Claire had to hold herself back to not start laughing. Alex looked like a trapped animal.

"Yeah, I guess so…would you mind?"

"The damage is already done" Claire said with a wink "so I guess we'll be fine."

Alex was relieved. He really wouldn't have liked to sleep on that couch…

The rest of the evening passed with Claire and Alex on the couch watching TV and just enjoying each others company and ended with Claire falling asleep in Alex's arms.

Meanwhile back home at Drovers Tess had another sleepless night because once again Claire seemed to have disappeared. Tess had been waiting for her call and report about whether she found Alex all evening and when the phone didn't ring she tried the number Claire had given her. But Claire didn't pick up. So Tess had called the hotel reception but they had only told her that Ms McLeod had checked out. So once again Tess had no idea where Claire was and if she was alright…

29

The next morning Tess was nearly out of her mind. It was already 10 am and Claire still hadn't called. And since Tess couldn't do anything about that she drove everybody else nuts. They were out mustering some sheep that needed drenching the next day. Usually Tess would joke around with the other girls but today she just snapped back at them. After another very rude comment towards Becky Jodi couldn't hold herself back anymore.

"Jeez Tess, what's up with you today? Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed today? You sound worse than Claire when she has one of her moods…"

The mentioning of her sister's name was enough to make Tess boil with anger.

"Claire…CLAIRE! Don't start with Claire! I don't wanna hear that name again till I see her walking up to me. And even then I'm not sure I wanna talk to her!"

With that Tess rode off and left the others alone with the sheep…

When Tess was back at the homestead she marched into the study right away. There had to be a way to find out where Claire was. If she had found Alex she'd probably be with him. So Tess had decided to call Nick and ask him again if he knew where Alex was. Maybe he had heard something since they last talked.

"Wilgul, Nick speaking…" he answered the phone.

"Nick, this is Tess!"

"Morning Tess. What can I do for you?"  
"You haven't by any chance heard any news from that brother of yours or my stupid sister?"

"No, why?"

"Claire didn't call yesterday and she's checked out of her hotel. I don't have any idea where she could be…" Tess started crying.

"Tess? Umm…I'll be right with you, ok? Don't do anything stupid, you here me?" Nick hung up the phone.

20 minutes later Tess saw a red ute pull up in front of the house. She was sitting on the veranda with a glass of cold lemonade, still crying. Once the tears had started she couldn't stop them anymore. But now Nick was here and maybe they'd find a solution together. After all this was about their siblings.

When Nick saw Tess crying he couldn't help but walk over to her and take her in his arms.

"Sshh Tess, it'll be ok."

"How can she do this to me Nick? She knows I'm worried and she knows it was a stupid idea to drive to Melbourne in the first place. She's pregnant and the baby could come any minute!"

"Doesn't she still have 3 weeks to go?"

"Yes, but that's still not the state you should travel in!" Tess's sobbing had stopped "What if the baby comes early and she's all alone?"

"Tess, I'm sure the fact she hasn't called means that she's found that stupid brother of mine. They'll be together somewhere and she probably completely forgot about you…"

"I need to find her Nick! I'm going crazy not knowing where she is!" Tess looked at him begging.

"Ok, what is the last thing you know she wanted to do?" Maybe they could figure out something together and make a few phone calls so Tess could calm down

"I talked to her Friday evening and she said she wanted to go to some Pony club on Saturday…"

"A pony club?"

"Yeah, it looks like she got that hint from Alex's father…"

"Well, do you have a name? Maybe we could find out the phone number and give them a call…"

Tess knew the name and they even found the phone number but when they tried to call the pony club nobody picked up the phone.

"Nick…I need to get down there! I can't just sit here and do nothing…"

Nick looked at Tess and knew he couldn't hold her back. So he said "Tell you what. If Claire hasn't called by tonight we'll book 2 flights to Melbourne…"

"2 flights?"

"Yes, I won't leave you alone in this situation. After all it was my brother who caused all the chaos!"

"Sounds like a plan…Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you…"

"It's ok. You know I'm always there for you when you need me…" Nick hugged Tess again and Tess closed her eyes. She felt so safe in Nick's arms…


	9. Chapter 9

30

At the same time in Melbourne Claire and Alex were getting ready for their lunch with Edna.

Claire had been surprised by Alex in the morning. He had fixed her breakfast with what little he had in his fridge and had served it in bed. Ok, toast and bacon were a little burnt but it was the thought that counted and after removing the black parts it was definitely eatable.

"You can do that every morning when we're home…" Claire had said, but only got a funny look from Alex.

After the wonderful breakfast in bed Claire had gone to take a shower and get dressed. Since she still didn't have many clothes with her she decided to wear the dress again she had worn yesterday. 'I think I need to do some more shopping tomorrow if I need to stay here for a week…' she thought and laughed. She hadn't done that much shopping in a long, long time.

Soon they were on the way to Edna's nice little house on the outskirts of Melbourne. Claire was really looking forward to seeing the elderly lady again. She had had so much fun the other day and the food had been phenomenal!

Claire was amazed how easily Alex found the way through the city. You could really tell he had spent the last months here and was comfortable driving with all that traffic. When they arrived at Edna's house Claire could already see her waiting at the front door.

"Claire!" she shouted and waved. Claire smiled, they would have a really nice lunch and afternoon. Alex would love to old lady.

Edna hugged Claire and then turned to Alex. "So you're the mysterious man this young lady drove all the way down for." She said and shook his hand. "I'm Edna!"

"Nice to meet you Edna, I'm Alex, Alex Ryan. And thanks for taking care of Claire the other day!"

"Oh, my pleasure. We did have a nice afternoon, didn't we dear?" She put her arm around Clair and led her into the house. "Yes we did…Edna, that IS a nice smell in here!"

They sat down and had lunch while Edna was questioning Alex about what he did in the city and if he decided to go back with Claire now. Alex laughed about every question, he could see that Edna was really worried about Claire and couldn't believe they had only met once before. This felt more like a visit with Claire's grandmother! But he liked it. He liked it a lot…

Claire on the other hand was glad now that she had told Edna the whole story except for the marriage part. The way she talked about everything Claire had told her she was sure Edna would have let something slip out. And Claire was still waiting for the right moment to break the news to Alex.

When Claire and Alex finally got back to Alex's apartment it was already quite late and Claire was exhausted. They had had a fun day but being so close to giving birth everything seemed to be more tiring than usual. While Alex put the supplies Edna had given them into the fridge Claire went straight to the bedroom. When Alex found her a couple minutes later she was fast asleep, still wearing her shoes. Alex smiled and took the shoes off and covered Claire with the sheets. It didn't take him long to join Claire in bed. He could really get used to having her in his arms…

31

Claire hadn't called the whole day and Tess was nearly out of her mind now. Nick had spent most of the day with her and Tess had been glad about that. Her mind wasn't on any of her chores today, all she could think about was 'Where's Claire?'

When it was dinner time Tess wasn't able to eat anything although Meg tried to convince her that it didn't help to find Claire if Tess was starving. But Tess wasn't hungry. Finally after dinner she asked Nick to come to the study with him. When they got there she asked "Can we book a flight now?" right away.

"Sure, I promised we would do this and she hasn't called yet so yes, we will book a flight and a hotel."

They were lucky to get a flight to Melbourne for the noon the next day but that meant leaving Drovers early in the morning. Tess calmed down a little. At least she had done something now even if she still didn't know where Claire was.

"I'll pick you up at 7 tomorrow, all right?" Nick said before he left Tess to go back to Wilgul to pack up some things.

Tess actually managed to get a few hours of sleep that night but it wasn't very much. She felt knackered the next day and just hoped they would find Claire today so she could finally get a proper dose of sleep.

Nobody had been surprised the night before when Tess had told them she was flying down to Melbourne to find Claire. There was not all that much to do on Drovers for the rest of the week so Meg, Jodi and Becky would be able to manage on their own and after a phone call from Nick Harry had agreed to send Terry over to help as well. And with the wheat all harvested there wasn't anything really left to do on Wilgul.

Nick arrived on Drovers on time to pick up Tess and they got on the way to Adelaide to catch the flight to Melbourne. Tess, unlike her usual self, was extremely quiet the whole time and Nick knew she was worried sick for Claire. It wasn't like Claire either not to call for 2, almost 3 days and he started to get worried, too. Maybe it was the best they got down there anyway. Claire had been driving all the way and she only had 3 weeks till the due day now so he doubted she would still be able to drive home alone. Even if she hadn't found Alex she wouldn't be alone now because there was no way Tess would ever leave her side again once they had found her.

The flight into Melbourne went smoothly and when they got there they took a taxi to their hotel, the same Claire had stayed in. They had booked 2 rooms there and wanted to start the search for Claire from there. Once they had checked in they tried to phone the pony club again but still couldn't get anybody to answer the phone. And since the pony club was on the other end of town it would take them way too long to get there on time today. So they decided to have a nice dinner together at the hotel restaurant and go to the pony club first thing in the morning.

After dinner Nick escorted Tess back to her room. Before she opened the door Tess turned around and looked in Nick's eyes.  
"Do you think she's all right?" she asked him and wanted him to say yes. But Nick wasn't too sure about that himself so he only said "I don't know Tess but I sure hope so…" and took her in his arms and held her tight.

They stood in front of Tess's room for a couple minutes just holding each other till Tess finally said "I need to get to my bed, we have an early start tomorrow…" So Nick let her go and went to his own room to get some sleep and smiled because he knew he'd be dreaming about Tess that night…

32

Claire woke up to Alex's alarm clock. It was Monday and he had to go back to work. She had woken up in the middle of the night to find she was still wearing her dress. So she had changed to her nightgown and had gotten back to bed…in Alex's arms. Claire smiled at the thought. She could get used to waking up next to him…

"Damn thing…"Alex mumbled and kissed Claire's hair. "You stay right where you are, no need for you to be up yet. You wanna have breakfast in bed again?" He asked as he got up with a sigh.

"Nah, thanks, don't feel like eating just yet. I will find something to eat later…"

"Righto, I think I should get myself ready for work I guess…I feel bad for leaving you alone all day, Claire."

"That's ok, I will manage…"

"This is the city Claire! You haven't been here since you had your hair in pigtails!"

"I found you, didn't I? And ALONE as I want to add…and besides, since I'll be staying here longer than I thought I need a few more clothes. And While I'm out shopping anyway I might as well look for a few things for the baby, don't really have all that much so far!"

Alex laughed "Claire McLeod shopping for baby stuff! That's something I'd really like to see!"

"Too bad you gotta go to work…" Claire said with a wink. She not only planned to go shopping for clothes and baby things, she also wanted a birthday present for Alex. It was his 30th birthday that Thursday and she wanted to give him something special. But so far she had no idea what that special something could be.

When Alex was ready to leave for work Claire was still in bed. This was so unlike her but there wasn't anything she could do here and as soon as she'd get up her feet would start swelling again. Shopping today would really be a torture…

Alex walked over to her and sat down on the bed. "You know, I'm really glad you found me. Usually I don't really wanna go home after work but now I got somebody waiting here for me…" He looked in Claire's eyes and was once again amazed about the intensity of her look. "I'm glad I found you, too…" Claire saw Alex's face move closer to her and closed her eyes as she felt his lips touch hers gently. Once their lips locked they both lost track of time as they deepened the kiss. It was Alex who finally broke away mumbling "Gosh, I really hate to go to work today…"

Before walking out the door he took one last look at Claire and sighed. She smiled.

"Hurry up when you're finished, I'll be waiting here for you…"

Then Alex left her alone with her feelings all roiled up inside her. So Claire got up to start her day as well. Taking another look in the fridge she thought 'Damn! I'll have to go grocery shopping, too! I'll be dead tonight…"

Once she was showered and dressed in her last set of relatively clean clothes she suddenly remembered she hadn't spoken to Tess since Saturday morning. So she dialled the Drovers number real quick but nobody picked up. They were probably out somewhere working, she'd have to try again round lunch time. Then she could probably get a hold of somebody and tell them she was fine and had found Alex.

A few hours later Claire was exhausted. She had already done all the shopping for herself and for the baby and all the walking around had caused her feet to swell up. She still didn't have a single idea what to buy Alex for his birthday. The only thing she knew was she wanted it to be special. But since she didn't even have a clue what that could be she decided to have something to eat somewhere and then she would get back to Alex's apartment to put her feet up. They were killing her. This was worse than walking around on Drovers all day!

Claire found a nice little restaurant and was glad she could at least sit down. She ordered and then felt the baby kick her. "Easy sweetheart!" she said and rubbed her tummy. And that's when the idea suddenly hit her. She knew what she's get for Alex. Claire smiled. She was sure he would like this…

Lost in her thoughts about the perfect birthday present for Alex Claire hadn't seen the woman walk up to her and almost fell off her chair when she heard a voice address her.  
"Claire? You're here! Did you find him?" Claire looked up in surprise. "Liz…"

33

Alex couldn't concentrate on work today. His thoughts seemed to constantly drift to Claire and their goodbye kiss this morning. And that brought the biggest smile to his face. He finally had her back and would go home soon. Then he realized that he still had to talk to his boss about taking time off to be with Claire when the baby was born. He shivered. He didn't know anything about babies, not a single thing.

'I need to buy a book on my way home…' he thought and there was that smile again as he thought about the baby.

Alex got up with a sigh. He couldn't put the talk to Karen off forever so he might as well do it now. He had thought about what to say on his way to work today and really hoped Karen would understand why he had to go so suddenly.

He knocked on Karen's office door and entered on her "Come in…"

"Karen, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure Alex, have a seat."

Alex liked the informality in the company. Everybody was using the first name and it felt more like a huge family than a work environment. Searching for the words he had so carefully worked out Alex sat down.

"Karen. I know this may come as a surprise for you…but I need some time off…next week…"

Karen smiled "Finally! I thought you'd never miss a day of work! So where are ya going to? Anywhere fancy?" Alex was a little surprised. This wasn't exactly the reaction he had expected.

"Not really…it's a little more complicated than that. Actually I need more than just a week off…"

"All right, spill the beans! What's up? Are you sick or anything? You don't look like it…"

"It's a long story and I don't really want to go into any details but the fact is…there's been some changes in my life that just came up over the weekend and I need to go home for a while."

Everybody in the company knew that Alex had come to the city from being a farmer but nobody knew the reason why. Even though he had become friends with most of his direct colleagues and they went out together regularly it had been too painful to tell the story of his messed up life.

"So, how long will you be gone?" It dawned on Karen that she was about to lose one of her workers.

"For however long you can give me off…"

"And will you come back after that?"

"I don't know Karen, I'm sorry. I want to be honest with you, if things turn out the way I want them to the chances for me returning are very little…" Alex felt sorry for Karen. He could clearly see she didn't like what she was hearing.

"Does this have to do with the fact you've been running around all day with a stupid smile glued to your face?" Karen now turned the conversation more into the direction of two friends talking than boss and employee.

Alex laughed. It must have been pretty obvious he had had a great weekend.

"Yes, "he said "this is the reason why I want to leave…"

"So it's about a woman I would guess…"

"Yes, actually about 2 people…one of them not even born yet…" The smile on Alex's face got even broader.

"What?" Karen looked confused so Alex just told her about Claire and the baby. Only the very necessary details but at least Karen would then understand why he had to go. When he was finished Karen said "Can we at least have a goodbye party for you?" but Alex had a better suggestion.

"Why don't we make it a goodbye party combined with a birthday party? It's my birthday on Thursday…"

They agreed to have the party here at the firm and Karen would take care of the arrangement.


	10. Chapter 10

34

Claire was really surprised to see Liz. Of course she had known that Liz was in Melbourne now but she hadn't expected to practically run into her on the street. In Gungellan maybe or even in Fisher but not in a huge city like Melbourne!

"Liz…what a surprise…" she said not sure if she could handle her at the moment.

"Do you mind if I sit down?" Liz said but she had already pulled up a chair next to Claire. "Have you been out shopping?"

"Umm…yes. Just some things for me to wear and some things for the baby…" Claire didn't want to go into any details. Her food was about to be served and she still needed to call Drovers to let them know she was ok. And she sure didn't want to talk to Tess in front of Liz.

"Claire, did you find him?" Liz couldn't hold herself back anymore. Claire could see she wanted an answer now. And she was sure Liz wouldn't leave till she knew. For a second Claire thought about not telling Liz about Alex but then decided she'd find out anyway if she contacted Bryce.

"Yes, I've found him Liz…" and before she could say more Liz asked "Where is he? Can I see him?"

Claire knew Alex wouldn't appreciate it if she just told his mother where she could find him. Even Bryce hadn't told Claire Alex's home address, just a neutral place where she could find him. But since Alex wouldn't be at the pony club next Saturday Claire couldn't do that. So she decided it would be best to talk to Alex first.

"Liz…Alex is still not really over all that has happened. I wasn't even sure if he wanted to see me…"

"Claire, please! I need to see him!"

"I know but you have to understand him…this is not easy for him. Listen, why don't you tell me where I can reach you and I'll talk to him, all right?" Claire prayed Liz would accept that because if she didn't then she wouldn't know what to do. But thankfully Liz gave in.

"Right, that's a good idea…hold on, I think I have something in here to write everything down for you…" she said and went on to search her purse. When she had found a piece of paper and a pen she wrote everything down and handed it to Claire.

"I'll probably be home every evening, I don't have any plans for this week. Please tell Alex that I love him and that I'm really sorry, will you?" Claire could see the pain Liz's eyes and even though she didn't really care for her she still felt sorry for the woman. Of course she had made a bad choice by not telling Harry and Alex the truth all those years but you could still see she really missed her son. Claire took Liz's hand in hers and pressed it for a second.

"I will, I promise…" she said and could see that Liz was relieved. Now that Liz had a chance of seeing Alex she quickly turned to being her normal self. Nosy and chatty…

"So tell me Claire, what did you buy for the baby?" she said and bent down to look inside the bags. "It's Alex's, isn't it? Oh, I'm so happy…my first grandchild!" Claire was glad Liz was busy with the bags because she felt the deep need to roll her eyes. This was going to be a tough week if she had to deal with Liz all the time…

Just then the waitress appeared with Claire's food. Claire was relieved…maybe she could get rid of Liz now and didn't have to answer her questions.

"Liz…umm…I don't wanna be rude but…my food's here and I need to make some phone calls…"

Liz looked up from the shopping bags "Oh, sorry dear, I don't want to keep you any longer." She looked on her watch "Oh, that late already? Thanks for talking to Alex, I expect your call soon! Goodbye dear!" She kissed Claire on the cheek and was gone before Claire could say anything…

After Claire had finished her lunch she decided it was time to call Drovers again. They should all be in by now to have lunch. Alex had left her his mobile phone along with his office number in case she needed anything.

"Drovers Run…" she heard Meg's familiar voice.

"Meg, this is Claire…"

"Claire! Thank God you call! Are you all right?"

"Yes Meg, I'm sorry, the last few days have been pretty eventful…"

"So you found Alex?"

"Yes I did…umm…could I talk to Tess for a minute?"

"Claire, when you didn't call for so long Tess got really worried something might have happened to you…Claire, Tess is on her way to Melbourne!"

"She's WHAT?" Claire couldn't believe it!

Meg went on to tell her what Tess had told her and finally gave Claire the name of the hotel that Tess and Nick were going to stay at. It was the same hotel she had been at so after hanging up she dialled the number right away but Tess and Nick were not there yet. Claire decided not to leave a message, She wanted to talk to Tess herself…

35

Alex was relieved that the talk to Karen had turned out so well. He really hadn't thought he could just go like that. When he returned to work after they had talked about some details of the farewell-birthday-party it was much easier for him to concentrate and he actually got a few things done. Having worked in this office for the past 7 months had had its good site as well. Having to take care of himself for the first time in his life he was much better with any kind of paper work and he had also learned to take better care of his finances. With the money from the trust fund he had bought his little apartment so he had to live off what he got for working. The company paid him good money so he had really had a good life here. Now he would go back home to having nothing again. That was the only thing that bothered him a little. He had wanted to go back home so badly but at the same time knew he didn't really have anything to do there. Claire had told him that she couldn't keep their horse training business up once he had left and she had found out she was pregnant. But she still had Drovers that was her own. Ok, hers and Tess's but still.

Maybe they could try and get back into training horses once the baby was born…which wasn't really all that far away. 3 weeks…in 3 weeks he'd be a father. Suddenly Alex just had to call Claire. Good thing he had given her his mobile. Quickly he dialled the number but was surprised to find it busy. Who was Claire talking to? Well, he would just have to try again in an hour…

But his patience only lasted 20 minutes then he tried again. This time the line was free and he waited for Claire to answer the phone.

When she picked up he heard her say "How do I…oh…Hello?" Alex laughed. It sounded like Claire was struggling with something.

"Claire? You do know how to use a phone, don't you?" he chuckled.

"Shut up Ryan, I'm carrying a ton of bags in one hand here and because you have to call…"

"Jeez Claire, what did I do? Thought you'd be happy to talk to me…"

"I actually am, had a weird day so far…"  
"Weird?" Alex really hoped Claire hadn't gotten lost again.

"Well, first shopping…you know I REALLY like that. Then when I just started to relax in a nice restaurant your mother of all people saw me sitting there…"

"Mum? God Claire I hope you didn't…"

"Calm down Alex, I didn't tell her where you are but we need to talk about it tonight…"

"Claire…" Alex voice sounded as annoyed as he was.

"Come on Alex, after all she's your mother. But let's stop that here, there's something else I need to tell you!"

"That doesn't sound good…"

"Well, depends on how you see it…Tess and Nick are on their way to Melbourne if they're not here already…"

"Huh? Why that? I mean, I can maybe understand why Tess is here but Nick?"

"I don't know Alex, really. Meg could only tell me they were on their way…"

"Well, let's talk about that later, too, ok? The reason why I called is I got good news! I talked to my boss again and my last day at work will be Thursday…"

"That's great Alex! I'm so glad to hear that…I really miss home…"

"I know Claire, I do too!"

Alex then told Claire about the farewell-birthday-party and Claire was really happy she didn't have to do any arrangements. It wasn't really her speciality, especially not when she was pregnant.

"Hey Alex, what do you think about me cooking us something for dinner tonight?" Claire asked.

"Umm…Claire…are you sure that's a good idea? I know all about your tuna casserole…"

Claire smiled, yep that story was a classic. Though she still thought it hadn't tasted all that bad…

"Listen, I'll just make some pasta and buy a finished sauce that you only need to heat up. There's not much I can do wrong, is there?"

"I'm not sure about that Claire…what's wrong about ordering food?"

"It's expensive and it takes ages!"

Alex laughed. "Well, ok. If you promise not to poison me you can cook…"

After a few more words exchanged they finally ended the talk and Claire went on to do the grocery shopping while Alex went back to his paper work…

36

Claire sighed. Cooking really wasn't her thing…she had already cooked the pasta and that hadn't caused any huge problems and the salad was already on the table. Now the only thing left to do was heat up the finished tomato sauce. Claire had put it in a pot but had then left the stove…which ended in red sprinkles all over Alex's kitchen wall and cupboards and Claire herself. Thank God there was still enough sauce left for both of them, even with Alex's huge stomach. And it wasn't even burned. Now she was stirring the sauce and it slowly heated properly. The mess was still all over the place but Claire didn't dare to stop stirring…

That was the way Alex found Claire when he got home. In the kitchen stirring like crazy while covered with tomato sauce from head to toe.

"Jeez McLeod…who did you kill?" He joked and walked over to her. Claire shot him a look that said stop that RIGHT NOW but then she smiled at him and lifted her face so he could give her a kiss. Alex smiled and gently touched her lips with his. Then he paused for a second only to place a second kiss on Claire's lips, this time hungrier and more demanding. Claire kept stirring all the time but it got slower and slower as she enjoyed the kiss more and more. When they both heard that plop, plop of the sauce again Alex jumped back and Claire stirred faster again.

"Careful Claire, I still need that suit…"Alex said.

Claire laughed "Not my fault, YOU kissed ME!" she said and winked at him.

While Alex went to the bedroom to change into something more comfortable Claire decided the sauce was hot enough and placed it on the table next to the pasta and salad. Who had ever said Claire McLeod couldn't fix a nice dinner? She was really pleased with herself…

Alex came back wearing jeans and shirt now but when he looked at Claire he started to laugh. "Claire, you might want to change your clothes, too…you're a bit more red than usual…"

Claire looked down on her dress. "Do you think?" she smirked "I'll just leave that on for dinner and change then. Who knows what will happen while I'm eating…"

They sat down and Claire filled Alex's plate with pasta and added sauce on top. Alex took a doubting look at everything and inhaled the smell. "That smells quite nice…" he said surprised and after taking a first bite he added "…and tastes really good! Wow Claire, never would have thought you could really cook me dinner!"

While eating they talked about what had happened after their phone calls which wasn't really all that much so they soon got back to the Nick and Tess. Claire still hadn't been able to get a hold of Tess but at least she had direct number for the room now and could try again later.

"What do you think Nick wants here?" Alex asked Claire. "You think he came to see me?"

"I would guess so Alex, he's your brother after all and you two haven't seen each other or even talked for 8 months! Don't think why he should be here otherwise. But it's nice for Tess that she doesn't have to travel alone…not that she shouldn't have left Drovers in the first place!"

"Claire, I bet ya she was worried because you haven't called her yet…"  
"I know, I know, it's all my fault…"

"I would say I was the one that caused the trouble in the first place but anyway…what do we do with this evening?"

"Clean up the kitchen…" Alex laughed.

And that's what they did. They cleaned the table and then went on to clean the kitchen. Claire had done a good job getting the tomato sauce everywhere and it took a while till everything was clean again…especially because every once in a while Alex would just grab Claire kiss her….

When they were finally finished with cleaning Claire changed into fresh clothes, sweat pants and a shirt she had bought today. Alex was already waiting for her on the couch and they made themselves comfortable in each others arms. It wasn't long till Claire fell asleep in Alex's arms. It had been a long and exhausting day for her. Alex placed a kiss on her hair and was happy just being able to hold her in his arms…

37

A few hours later Claire woke up in Alex's arms once more.

"Hey sleepy head…"Alex said and kissed her on the hair. "What would you think about finishing your sleep in a proper bed?"

Claire lifted her head and moved closer to Alex to kiss him. "What time is it?" she asked with a sleepy voice.

"Almost midnight, why?"

"Oh Alex!" Suddenly Claire was wide awake. "I still haven't called Tess!"

"Bit late now. Do it first thing tomorrow morning…" Alex knew if Claire called Tess now she'd be upset afterwards and they both wouldn't get to sleep any time soon.

"Alex I can't wait, I haven't called her since Friday evening!" Claire got up and started looking for the phone and her purse with the phone number of Tess's room. She found both and went to the bedroom to talk to Tess alone.

'That was my sleep for tonight…' were Alex's thoughts as he leaned back on the couch.

Claire sat down on the bed and dialled the number. After 5 rings she finally heard Tess's sleepy voice "Whoever this is I'm asleep and I have an early start tomorrow so…"

"What the heck were you thinking just leaving Drovers alone and coming here?" Claire was happy to hear Tess's voice but was still mad at her for leaving the farm alone.

"Claire? Is that you?" Tess was awake now.

"No, Santa Claus…of course it's me! Where've you been all evening? I tried to call you but you were not in your room…"

"Hold on Claire, you dare to ask me where I've been? YOU? You didn't call me for 3 days! And I'm not the one who's pregnant and travelling alone! If I find any grey hair now I'll blame it on you! Do you have ANY idea who worried I was?" Tess really got going now that she knew Claire was all right. She had to vent her anger on somebody and Claire had caused this all so she had the right person. "And besides, I didn't leave Drovers "alone", Becky, Jodi and Meg are there working their butts off because you had to take off just like that! And you have the nerve to ask me where I was…HA!"

"Are you finished now?" Claire said a little bit annoyed. She knew Tess was right but it wasn't completely her fault. And it was not like she hadn't called on purpose…

"I think so…" Tess answered.

"Listen Tess, I never meant to worry you but these last days have been quite eventful on my end…"

"Did you find Alex?" Tess was curious now. Claire smiled.

"Yes, I found him. I'm with him now at his apartment. He's in the other room now probably swearing at me because I called you…"

"That's wonderful Claire! How is he? Has he changed? What did he do all this time?"

"Wow Tess, can't you ask one question after the other?"

"Your own fault Claire if you don't tell me anything…"

"Yeah, yeah, get away. I'll tell you everything but could we maybe talk sometime tomorrow and in person? I'm really getting tired here…"

"Ok, I'll let you off the hook for tonight. Where can I find you?"

Claire told Tess the address of Alex's apartment and Tess said she'd be there for a later breakfast. Before they hung up Tess asked "Claire, you know I have Nick with me…Could I bring him? I'm sure he'd like to know about Alex, too…"

"Sure, Alex won't be around anyway, he'll be working. Is that why you brought him? Because he wants to see Alex?"

"That's part of it…"  
"And what's the other part?" Now it was Claire who got curious "Anything you wanna tell me?"

"Claire! We're just mates. You know, he was very supportive when I didn't know whether you were alive or dead…"

Claire didn't hear Tess's last comment on purpose and only asked "You sure that's all you are? Mates?"

"Claire!"

After that they said their goodbyes and hung up. Claire was glad she had called Tess, even at such a late hour. She had really missed talking to her sister and she was glad they'd see each other again tomorrow.

Alex stuck his head through the bedroom door. "You alright?" he asked and tried to read Claire's emotions. She smiled at him and said "Yeah, it's fine. Tess will come here tomorrow morning and we'll have a proper chat…"

"You're not upset or anything?" Alex sat down next to Claire and put his arm around her.

Claire frowned. "Why should I?" She looked in Alex's face.

"I thought Tess would give you a hard time because you didn't call her for so long…"

"Well, she did. But she was right, you know? I was a lousy sister these last days just as you were a lousy brother the last 8 months…" Claire said and tipped on Alex's chest. "Nick's here to see you…" She rested her head on Alex's shoulder and pulled him closer. Alex sighed.

"I know and I think I'm glad he is. This whole mess wasn't his fault either. Don't laugh at me but I've really missed my little brother. With you not around I didn't have anybody to have a proper fight with…" Claire laughed. "So that's all you want him for? To have a fight?"

"Claire! You know what I mean…" Alex quickly changed the subject "Could we maybe go to bed now? It's way past midnight and unlike you I'll have to get up early again tomorrow…or rather later today!"

So they both changed into their nightwear and slipped into bed together. Claire made herself comfortable in Alex's arms.

"You know Claire, I really like having you here in bed with me…" Alex said while falling asleep.

"I know." Claire whispered "And you know, there's no place I'd rather be right now…"

Alex placed a kiss on Claire's head. "I love you Claire…" were his last words before he drifted off to sleep…


	11. Chapter 11

38

The next morning Tess woke up from a loud knock on her door. She turned around in bed and took a look at the radio clock on the bedside table. 7 am…who the hell was knocking at that time. She pulled the covers over her and closed her eyes again. But there was that knock again followed by a male voice…

"Tess? Are you ready to go? We wanted to have breakfast early, remember?"

Tess was awake in a heartbeat. Nick! After Claire's phone call last night she had unset the alarm clock since there was no need to get up early now but she had completely forgotten about Nick!

"Bugger! Bugger, bugger, bugger…"she muttered as she got out of bed and looked for her bathrobe since she was only wearing knickers and a top.

"Tess? Are you ok? Open the door please!" Nick sounded worried now.

"Nick, umm, hold on…" Tess shouted. She had finally found the bathrobe and wrapped it around her. Now she slowly opened the door and gave Nick an excusing look.

"Morning Nick…"

"Tess? What's up? Why aren't you dressed yet? I thought you were desperate to find your sister and wanted to get out to that pony club as soon as possible?"

"Nick…umm…Claire called last night, so…"

"When? Why didn't you tell me? There was no need to get up that early and you didn't tell me? Tess!" Tess could tell Nick wasn't pleased at all.

"Would you come in please? There's no need to discuss this here where everybody can hear us…" she said and pulled Nick inside her room and closed the door.

"Sit down, I'll make you a cup of tea, ok?" Tess looked at him begging he wouldn't be too mad. But Nick just nodded and sat down in the chair beside the window.

"So…Claire called last night…" He said while Tess went to fix the tea.

"Yes she did but when we finished talking it was way after midnight and I simply didn't want to wake you. But I do admit that I forgot our breakfast appointment for today and unset the alarm clock…" Tess was finished with the tea and walked over to Nick with two cups in her hands. "Are you mad at me now?" She asked carefully and looked at him like a puppy. Nick couldn't help but laugh. A guilty Tess was just too sweet!

"No, I'm not mad at you but you will have to tell me now what Claire told you! Fair's fair!" He took a small sip from the tea but burned his lips on the hot fluid. "Damn, that's hot…"

"It's tea Nick! It's supposed to be hot…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know...about Claire now. Has she found Alex? And where is she?"

"Yes, Claire found Alex but I really don't know any details yet other than she's with him now. We're meeting her for a late breakfast at 10…"

"You mean we don't have to be anywhere till 10 and we're her in your room having a cuppa at 7 am when we could still be sound asleep? Tess, I really don't know how you can make up for that one…"

2 ½ hours later Nick and Tess were on their way to have breakfast with Claire. Tess roughly knew the area so it didn't take them long to find the place.

"Nice area…" Nick said as he had a look around. "Guess my brother didn't have it all that bad then…"

They knocked on the apartment door even though they were 10 minutes early. Claire opened and was clearly in a hurry.

"You're early!" was all she said then walked away again leaving Nick and Tess alone, standing in the doorway.

"At least Claire hasn't changed a bit since she left home…" Nick was amused and shook his head smiling as they made their way inside.

"That's a nice place…and oh…do I smell coffee here? Claire?" Tess said and went looking for the kitchen. "Where are you, my favourite sister of all?"

"I'm your only sister and since you're here early you might as well help me with this!" Tess followed Claire's voice and found her in the kitchen handling a pan that had something in it that looked like bacon.

"A little dark there…" she said and went over to Claire to give her a hug. She hadn't seen her sister for almost 2 weeks so Claire would have to live with it.

"Not my fault it's burned, I had to open the door…" Claire said and hugged Tess back. She had really missed her little sister. They had become so close these past months during Claire's pregnancy.

"Come on Claire, I'll get that out to that lovely table on the balcony that you set up and you go and say hello to Nick…"

Claire nodded and left the kitchen to find Nick who had already gone outside on the balcony. She gave him a hug "Good to see you mate! Sorry for all the stress you had with Tess because of me…"

"That's ok, you know, you really had everybody worried…"

"I know, I know…" Tess came outside and had the bacon on a plate. She had cut off the blackest bits so it really looked eatable now. Toast and eggs were already waiting to be eaten so they all sat down.

"So Claire…"Nick said while they were filling their plates, "I think you owe us a story…"

So in the next hour Claire told them both what had happened since she had left Drovers almost 2 weeks ago, how she had found Alex and what she knew about his life here. She also told them about Bryce and about Liz being in Melbourne now which got her rolling eyes from Tess. She finished by telling them "So this is it. And on Saturday we'll drive back home…"

39

"Thank you Ma'am...yes I will, byebye!" Alex hung up the phone and was relieved. That conversation had taken a long time and his head was buzzing now and he felt a headache coming. He desperately needed a cup of coffee now and some fresh air. So he got up and waked to the other end of the building where he knew he'd find a coffee machine and a balcony. When he stepped out on the balcony with his coffee in his hand he breathed in. 'Not like home but still better than the air inside…' he thought and took a sip from the warm, dark fluid in the mug he was holding. His thoughts drifted off to Claire as he looked out over the city in the direction where his apartment was. Tess and Nick were probably already there and having breakfast with Claire. When he had woken up this morning Claire had still been in his arms and he had had a feeling of contentment that he had never had before. He knew he loved her, he always had ever since they got together those 10 years ago. Back then he had always told Claire he wanted to marry her because of the baby but deep down inside he had known that he wanted to do it because she was the only woman that cold truly make him happy. And today, all those years later the feeling was still as strong as it had been then. Alex knew he had to ask Claire again to be his wife. But he wasn't sure if she'd say yes or not. She was pregnant again just like 10 years ago but that was only a minor reason for him to propose. Most of all he just never wanted to be separated from Claire again. They had been apart for 8 months and although Alex knew it had been his decision to leave he had never felt so lonely in his whole life. More than once there had been moments when he had just wanted to call Claire and tell her about something that had happened. Like he had always done at home. He had missed talking to her, he had even missed their constant fights and teasing each other. That's when he had realized that even after all this time he still loved her. But would she say yes?

Alex sighed and drank the last of his coffee to go back inside. On his desk he found a note that Bryce had called and he knew he owed his father a call. And he also knew there was an other call to make…his mother. Bryce was easier so he called him first.

"Redstaff and Associates, how can I help you?" Ashley answered the phone as usual. Alex had met her a few times and had talked to her on the phone quite often and every time it was bugging him that he couldn't tell her he was her brother.

"Hi this is Alex Ryan, Bryce called me a few minutes ago…"

"Ah, yes, he's expecting your call, I'll put you right through…"

Alex heard the familiar music that always played when he was phoning Bryce in his office.

"Alex?"

"Yeah. You called? What's up? Everything all right?"

"Yes. Actually I just wanted to hear if Claire found you on Saturday…"

"Yes, she did…"

"Good. She was here on Friday and I told her you'd be at the pony club on Saturday. I thought it was better if you two met on neutral ground…"

Alex smiled. Bryce was right, the pony club had been better than his apartment of even at work.

"Thank you for helping her. She did find me and is staying with me now…"

"Are you happy son?" Alex could hear the worry in Bryce's voice. Even though their relationship wasn't perfect he still knew Bryce cared about him. If only he could meet his sisters, too…

"Yes, I am. Umm Bryce…I will be going back home on Saturday…"

"I know. I figured you would go back once you had everything sorted with Claire but it's quicker than I thought …"

"Well, it's not exactly sorted yet but…you probably saw that she's pregnant…"

"It's kind of hard to miss…is it yours?"

"Yes it is, that's one of the reasons I have to go back so quickly. Claire wants to have the baby at home and I want to be with her…"

"I understand that Alex. I hope you'll come back here and show me my grandchild though! Will I get to see you before you leave? I know it's your birthday Thursday and I had hoped we could have lunch together…"  
"Sure, I would like that. But could I maybe bring Claire? I would really like you to meet her. Meet her properly that is…"

"Great idea!"

They talked about the details for Thursday's lunch and when Alex hung up he was relieved that Bryce wasn't too unhappy about him going back home. They had only just gotten to know each other a little better and now Alex would leave again.

He sighed. He really didn't want to phone up his mother now so he went back to sort through the folders. There was still a lot to be finished and fixed so he could leave at the end of the week…

40

"So Claire, when will Alex be home?" Tess and Claire were in the kitchen. They had just put the remains of their breakfast away and Nick had followed them with the plates.

"Yeah, when's that brother of mine going to show up? He knows we're here, right?"  
"Of course he knows Nick! And no, I don't exactly know when he'll be home, I guess round 6, that's when he came yesterday. But he said he has a lot to do at work so he can leave so I don't know. He promised to call when he's finished."

"So Claire, what have you planned for the rest of the day? Anything in particular?" Tess put her arm around Claire.

"Nothing really. I still need to buy something for Alex's birthday present but that shouldn't take all that long. I was shopping yesterday but my feet were killing me so…Plus I still had to recover from the meeting with Liz!"

"How is Mum?" Nick asked.

"Her usual self…I wish Alex would talk to her…"

They all left the kitchen and sat down on the balcony again.

"So he hasn't talked to Liz yet?" Tess asked.

"No. But I hope I can talk him into it. Even though Liz is the way she is she'll be the only grandmother this little fella here will ever know and I don't want Alex to ruin that…"

Claire got a surprised look from Nick. She didn't know what Tess had told him about the baby but it was obvious he hadn't known that Alex was the father of her baby. Claire laughed. "I thought Tess told you! Yes, Alex is the father of my baby!"

"No, Tess didn't tell me but I had a feeling he could be when you went to find him. But it's good to know now…" He got up and hugged Claire. "Congrats to you two then. I hope Alex is happy about it…"

"Oh, he is. We both are..." For a brief moment Claire thought about the other time when she had been pregnant with Alex's child and was glad that everything had gone well so far.

"Ok Claire…" Tess broke Claire's thoughts "What is that birthday present you're talking about?"

Claire smiled. "Well, I wanted it to be something special, you know? So…I will have one of the ultrasound pictures framed for Alex. He hasn't seen them yet…"

"You took them with you?" Tess was surprised. She hadn't known Claire would be so sentimental to take the pictures with her everywhere she went. After all she had only planned to be away for a day.

"Only my favourite 2…Ok, shall we get that frame now? Or we'll be sitting here all day and I will have to go tomorrow…You can help me pick it out!"

Just then the phone rang…

Claire jumped up as quickly as she could to search for the phone. "That'll be Alex. He called the same time yesterday…Ah, there you are!" She had finally found the phone and answered it with "Can't live half a day without talking to me Ryan, can ya?"

"Get away Claire…I just wanna know if everything's ok with you…"

"Yeah, yeah, you sound like a broken record Alex. You can team up with Tess, she sounds the same…I'm pregnant, not a kid!"

"Come on Claire, we care about you…The reason I'm calling is that Bryce invited us to have lunch with him on Thursday…and I kinda already said yes…are you mad?" Alex asked carefully.

Claire laughed. Alex had changed from protective father to little boy in a second.

"No Alex, it's ok. I wanted to thank him anyway."  
"Good…" Claire could have sworn she heard some huge rocks fall somewhere…

"Umm…Alex, did you call your mother yet? You know she's waiting…"  
"I know, I know, but it's not that easy. She's been lying to me all my life…"  
"And there's nothing you can change about that! Come on, talk to her…"  
"Ok, I will call her later…"  
"Call her now…"

"But what if she wants to meet me? I can't do that! Not alone…"

"You know what? Since Tess and Nick are here why don't you ask Liz if she wants to go out for dinner with all of us tonight? That way you won't have to be alone with her and it'll be neutral ground…" Alex smiled. Bryce had used that term as well…

"Ok Claire, I promise I'll call her when we've hung up…"

They talked for another couple of minutes before Claire finally put the phone down and turned around, only to look in her sister's not very happy face…

"Why do I have to have dinner with Liz Ryan?"

"What's wrong about that? Come on, do it for Alex…"

"She doesn't like me Claire…"  
"That's stupid Tess" Nick then said "Why should Mum not like you? You're a great person and she knows that…I'm fine with going out to dinner. I haven't seen Mum for quite a while…" he turned around and went back outside.

Claire went over to her still unhappy sister and put an arm around her. "I know Liz is not exactly fond of you but you won't be alone with her, I promise! Come on, do it for Alex..."

"Ok, ok, I will go out but I didn't bring anything to wear for going out properly…we'll have to extend that shopping trip…"  
Claire rolled her eyes. It wasn't like she had been shopping all day yesterday! But she was glad that Tess had agreed to come to dinner with them. 'You owe me big time Alex…" she thought before she said "Right, let's go then or we won't be back in time for Alex to come home…"

41

Alex looked at the phone in his hands and at the piece of paper on his desk. His lunch break was almost over and if he really wanted to invite his mother to have dinner with him and the others he would have to call her now. With a deep sigh Alex finally started dialling the number that his mother had written down for him and waited for her to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" he finally heard her say but he couldn't say anything at first.

"Hello?" he heard again and finally said "Mum…"

"Alex? Is that you?" he could hear the excitement in his mother's voice.

"Yes Mum it's me…" He said carefully.

"Oh Alex…it's so good to hear your voice…how are you?"

"I'm fine Mum. How are you? I hear you're living in Melbourne now…"

"Yes I am, there was nothing really left to keep me in Fisher and I still have quite a few friends here. Alex, can I see you?"

"Mum…"

"Alex please! I haven't seen you for so long. I know I hurt you but please forgive me. I thought I was doing the right thing…"

"It's ok Mum. I think I've learned to live with it. I've met Bryce…"

"I know, he told me…"

"Listen Mum, Claire had a great idea. Why don't we all go out for dinner tonight?"

"Oh Alex, really? That would be so nice…"

"Nick and Tess are in town, too. I'll book a table for all of us…" Alex could hear his mother breathing in when he mentioned Tess's name but she didn't say anything. It looked like she was keeping quiet for once in her life. He told his mother where he'd book and they agreed to meet there at 8.

After finishing the phone call Alex sighed. That was done. Now he only needed to go home on time to prepare for the evening.

When he entered his apartment shortly after 6 he could already hear Tess's voice as he opened the door. He smiled. He had missed her energy and chattiness. They had more than once gotten on his nerves when they had been together shortly after Tess had come home but now he was glad to hear her voice.

"Honey, I'm home!" He shouted as he closed the door.

"Oh stop it Ryan…" was Claire's answer from the balcony. "Come out here and say hello to your brother and my sister…"

So he just dropped his briefcase on the floor and joined the others outside. Tess jumped up and gave him a huge hug and he could see Nick's surprised face.

"It's so good to see you Alex. You look great!" Tess said after she had gotten away from him. Nick still hadn't said a word. Finally he pulled himself together. "Hey, who are you and what have you done to my brother?" He said smiling while looking up and down at Alex's appearance.  
"Why, what's wrong with me?" Alex asked confused.

"Look at you Alex, you're wearing a suit and tie, proper shoes, you have a really nice haircut and you're shaved!"

Alex laughed "Well, what did you expect? I'm working for and insurance company, don't think they'd like it if I showed up in jeans and unshaved…" He walked over to his brother "Come on Nick, I haven't seen you in ages! I want a proper hello…" and he pulled Nick up and they hugged. "You don't look too bad yourself little bro. Good to see you!"

They all sat down again and Alex asked "So, what have you done all day?"

Claire rolled her eyes "More shopping! My feet are killing me!"

"We got a gorgeous dress for Claire for tonight…" Tess started.

"More dresses? You turning into a girly girl now Claire?" Alex just had to tease her.

"Oh shut up Alex, it wasn't really my choice going shopping with those two here…" Claire pointed to Nick and Tess with her head. "But at least I also got my birthday present for you…"

"Talking about my birthday…has she told you about the birthday party on Thursday? I reckon you'll still be in town then so you're invited of course…"Alex said to Nick and Tess.

"Yes, Claire told us and yes, we'll still be here…" Nick said.

"Alex, I've told our siblings that we'll be driving home on Saturday and of course Tess insisted on coming with me…"  
"Don't think I'll ever let you drive anywhere without me till that baby is born! You scared me enough!"

"Let me finish Tess! Where was I…ah, yes, Tess said she'd come with me so I thought why don't we all drive home by car? The four of us together. You and me can take your car and Nick and Tess can take the Merc. That way we could also get more of your stuff moved right away…" Claire looked at Alex. She didn't really know how Alex would react to their idea.

"Sounds like you've made a lot of plans today…but it's a good idea. Otherwise I would have had to come back and drive the car home alone…"

"See Claire, it WAS a good thing Nick and I came down here then…" Tess said.

"Don't think we'll really agree on that Tess…" Claire said to her sister. Then she remembered something. "Oh Alex, I forgot to ask you if you called Liz?"

He sighed. "Claire…"  
"Don't tell me you didn't call her and I bought that dress for nothing…" Alex laughed "No Claire, I did call her. We'll be meeting her at the restaurant at 8…"  
"8? Jeez Alex, couldn't you say that earlier? We all still need to get ready and there's only 1 bathroom here!" Tess jumped up and ran inside.

"Not everybody needs as much time as you Tess…" was Claire's comment to that which got her a huge laugh from the boys.

'God I've missed this!' Alex thought as he looked at Claire and his brother. He finally sat down next to Claire and put his arm around her.

"Hey McLeod, I haven't had my welcome home kiss yet…" he said with a wink.

"And you think you deserve it…" Claire moved closer to Alex and their faces were only a few centimetres apart now.

"Yes I do…" Alex said and closed the last gap between them as he gently touched Claire's lips with his. They both completely forgot about Nick who was still on the balcony with them…


	12. Chapter 12

42

When Tess walked out of the bedroom again 40 minutes later all dressed up and with makeup on, ready to go out for dinner she was surprised to find Nick on the living room couch alone, zapping through the TV channels.

"What are you doing here alone?" she asked "I thought you wanted to talk to Alex…"

"Umm, we did talk a bit but then he got distracted…" Nick said and pointed his head to the open balcony door. You could hear giggling and laughing from outside interrupted by silent periods with definite kissing sounds.

"They're like teenagers!" Nick complained.

Tess smiled "Yeah, it's still a little odd though, don't you think? I mean…who would have thought, Claire and Alex having a baby together!"

"Yes I know! I mean, after Claire left so suddenly to find Alex I kinda figured there was something going on but THAT…that's too much for me, really…"

Tess walked over to the couch and gave Nick a hug. "I know what you mean. But I guess we'll have to get used to that. After all it's nothing we can change…and to be honest, I don't really wanna change it! I haven't seen Claire so happy ever since she found out Peter was married!"

"Yeah, I know. And just look at Alex! He looks like a lovesick pup!" Nick shook his head and got up. This was really not the same Alex that had left all those months ago. "Well, I guess we can give them some more time while I get myself ready for meeting Mum…" he sighed and went to the bedroom to change.

Tess wasn't as patient as Nick. After 5 minutes she couldn't stand the kissing sounds anymore and walked outside. "Could you maybe stop that? You know, Nick and I still have to get used to you two being together and you're not helping at all!" Having said that she turned around again and marched back to the couch leaving a puzzled Claire and Alex on the balcony looking at each other. Claire had climbed on Alex's lap earlier and now got up again. "I'll have a look and I still need to change in that bloody dress Tess picked out for me…"  
"You're really turning into a girly girl Claire, wearing all those dresses…" That only got him a dirty look from Claire as she followed her sister inside.

"Tess? What's wrong? I'm sorry if we bothered you, really…You knew Alex and I were together…"

"Claire, I didn't know that. I only knew that he got you pregnant but I wasn't expecting two lovesick teenagers…Anyway, maybe I'm just a bit frustrated because I am actually happy for you, you know?"

"It's ok Tess, I'll promise we'll behave tonight…"

Nick walked back into the living room all ready to go, too. Now it was only Claire left to put on her dress and some makeup. She hadn't wanted to but Tess had insisted and promised to help her. "Tess, you ready to help me get dressed?" She asked and walked over to the bedroom.

"Sure Claire!" Tess jumped up and followed her sister.

20 minutes later it was Tess who came back first.

"Wow Tess, you look great! Alex said. He hadn't seen her in her dress yet.

"Just wait till you see Claire! She looks amazing! Get out here Claire!" she shouted for her sister.

"I look fat in that!" Was Claire's answer from the bedroom.

"You're not fat, you're pregnant!"

"But everybody can see it…"

"So what Claire! It's not like you can miss that in any kind of clothes you're wearing…"

Finally Claire found the courage to open the bedroom door. There she stood in a black, knee long dress, wearing only a touch of make up.

Alex just looked at her with his mouth dropping to the floor. "Wow Claire…" was all he could say.

Claire clearly felt uncomfortable with everybody staring at her so she said "Can we go now? Or we'll be late and I don't think it's good to let Liz wait…"

So they all left to have dinner with Liz Ryan…

43

Liz Ryan entered the restaurant and hoped that the others were not there yet. She needed some time to acclimatize with the surroundings. She was really nervous about meeting Alex. When they had talked on the phone he hadn't really sounded happy to hear her voice. She knew she had probably ruined his whole life by not telling him the truth about his father earlier but she had only wanted to protect her family. Now that family was history and all she had left was her two sons. Both had been very upset after the truth had come out all those months ago and she could really understand why Alex had left that day. But maybe he could forgive her now…she really hoped it.

After she was told that nobody was there yet she was relieved and sat down at the bar and ordered a white wine. She just needed something to calm her nerves down. If only she could have talked to Alex alone…or maybe with only Claire or Nick present. But that person would be there, too. She really couldn't understand what Nick saw in her! She was just not the right woman for him. Liz sighed and asked the bartender for the time.

"It's 10 to 8 Ma'am."

"Thank you" Liz said and sighed. Still 10 minutes till they would come. 10 minutes she could still dream about having her son back. What if he didn't want her back in his life? Claire had never really answered her question of the baby was Alex's but Liz had a strong feeling it was. Why else would she have gone to find him now that she was so far along in her pregnancy…

Liz heard laughter behind her and turned around. There they were, all four of them. Claire on Alex's arm and Tess on Nick's. The last view made her shiver but she pulled herself together. Today was her day of meeting Alex again and she wouldn't let that person ruin it. So she got up and walked over to them.

Nick was the first to see his mother come closer.

"Alex…" he said, touched his brother's arm and pointed in Liz's direction.

"I saw her Nick…" Alex still wasn't sure if this whole thing had been such a great idea but at least he knew he had the support from his brother and best friends.

Nick met Liz half way and said "Hi Mum, good to see you.", while he hugged her.

"Ah Nick, nice to have you here! It's been a long time since I've seen both my sons at the same time…"

"Don't be too hard on him Mum, ok? He's gone through a hard time…"  
"I know Nick…"

They walked over to where the others were waiting and Liz first greeted Claire with a hug and shook Tess's hand. Then she turned to her oldest son not really knowing what to do. She wanted to hug him but was sure he didn't want that. So she just said "Alex, I'm so sorry…"

Alex had looked at his mother the whole time she had talked to Nick. She looked like she had lost some weight and was a bit pale, like she had aged a couple years since he had last seen her. He would have never thought it but now that he saw her just a few feet away he realized he had really missed her. He wasn't sure if he could ever forgive her but he realized he was willing to make a new start.

"Alex…" his mother said again waking from his thoughts. "I can't tell you how sorry I am for what I did to you. I know now it was wrong but I can't change it. Please don't turn your back on me…"

"It's ok Mum…" Alex finally said, "I love you…" Then he bent down to hug her with tears in his eyes.

"Oh Alex, I love you, too" Liz felt the tears coming. She had waited 8 months to have him back in her arms. 8 months of not really knowing where he was…

"I've missed you Mum…I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to forgive you but I'm willing to try…"

"You can't believe how much I've missed you Alex, it's so good to have you back…"

Alex escaped from his mother's embrace and looked away from Claire, Tess and Nick to wipe away the tears.

"Shall we go and sit down." He then said "I'm starving…after all I've been the only one here today that has done some real work…" That got him a pinch in the arm from Claire.

They all took their seats and ordered. Then the conversation of course turned to Claire and the baby. Liz was desperate to know all about it.

"So Claire, you didn't answer my question yesterday…is the baby Alex's? Will I be a grandmother soon?"

"Muuuum…" Alex wasn't really happy with the way his mother questioned Claire. He guessed that some things would never change.

"It's ok Alex…" Claire jumped in, "she has a right to know I guess…Yes Liz, Alex is the father of my child and that will make you a grandmother soon…"

"Oh that's wonderful Claire! I'm so happy for you! My first grandchild…"

The rest of the evening went by without any more embarrassing questions. They had a lovely dinner and Alex told Liz about what he had done since he came to the city. They also told Liz about their plan of driving all back together on Saturday. Liz disappointment was clearly visible on her face. She had hoped to have her sons for a little longer now that they were all in the same city but she also understood why Claire wanted to go home as soon as possible. So she only told them to drive carefully and tell her when they had arrived.

When the evening was finished they all said goodbye at the restaurant with the promise to stay in contact. Tess and Nick wanted to drive to their hotel right away and Claire wanted to get out of her shoes and put her feet up as soon as possible so Alex had promised to take her home right away. Liz gave everyone but Tess a huge hug and left to go home herself.

"What an evening…" Claire said as she hugged her sister and Nick goodbye and climbed in Alex's car…

44

When they came back to Alex's apartment Claire kicked of her shoes and went straight to the bathroom. The shoes had been flat but still not very comfortable and her feet were awfully swollen once more. When she was finished in the bathroom she sat down on the bed and let herself slide back. "I'm dead…that day really killed me!" she said to Alex, who was standing in the doorframe. "My back is killing me and I can't feel my feet anymore!" she closed her eyes.

"Want a massage? I'm known to be good at that…"

"I really don't wanna know who told you that Ryan but I could really use a massage right now…"

Alex walked over to Claire who had sat up again and started massaging her back. But it didn't really go the way he wanted to.

"Claire…umm…maybe it would be better if you would take your dress off…not that I wanna do anything indecent…umm…the massage would…"

"Jeez Alex, spit it out! But I know what you mean…" Claire got up and took her dress off with Alex helping her unzip. When she stood in front of him only in her underwear Alex had to hold himself back not to turn her around and kiss her. But he had promised nothing indecent and a kiss would have surely led to that. "Get on the bed Claire…" he said instead and she did just that.

Being as tired as she was, Claire fell asleep during Alex's massage. He gently kissed her on the head and on her stomach, undressed himself as well and slipped into bed behind her. He knew exactly what he had would be doing in his lunch break tomorrow. He'd be getting a ring for her. He wanted her to be his wife more than anything else. It was the right thing to do because he loved her and she was carrying his child. A warm feeling spread out all over his body. This time last week he had felt like a lost soul and now he was the luckiest man on earth because Claire was back in his life. Those were his last thoughts before he faded into a deep, content sleep.

The next day Alex couldn't wait for his lunch break. He knew he didn't have much time but he really didn't need it anyway. He knew exactly what kind of ring he wanted to get for Claire and he knew there was a jeweller not too far away. So now it only needed to be 12 so he could go…

When the time had finally come he jumped up and practically ran from the building. Once he reached the jeweller he had a quick look at the displays outside and saw a ring there that would be perfect for Claire. Simple and classy, just like Claire herself. So he got inside and bought the ring. He didn't care how expensive it was, that ring had Claire written all over it. She hadn't gotten an engagement ring the first time, only her wedding bend, so money really didn't matter.

When he walked back into his office 45 minutes later he had the biggest grin ever on his face. He had decided to propose the next day at his birthday party. With all those people around Claire really couldn't say no!

"Did you win the lottery or what put that smile one your face, Alex?" He looked up from the small box in his hands. He had almost knocked Karen over looking at it.

"Better than winning the lottery…" and let Karen have a look at the ring.

"Wow! That looks expensive…"

"Oh it was but that doesn't matter, it's so Claire! I can't wait till you meet her…" Alex had wondered where to hide the ring so Claire wouldn't find it but now he knew. "Karen, could you do me a favour and keep that for me? I wanna ask Claire at the party tomorrow and I don't want her to find the ring before that…"

"Sure Alex. I'll put it in the safe in my office. Just let me know when you need it tomorrow."

"Thanks." Alex said and handed Karen the velvet box. That was done. Now Claire only needed to say yes…

45

Claire was on the couch in Alex's apartment with her feet up reading a magazine she had bought the day before. There was a nice smell making its way into the living room and Claire could hear her sister and Nick laughing in the kitchen. There were definitely some good sides of having Tess around. And one of them was that unlike her her sister was a great cook. They once again had spent most of the day together but today had been a day of relaxing and laziness. Tess had helped Claire to put the finishing touches on her birthday present for Alex. The ultrasound picture had gotten a nice surrounding and was now in its frame and put away at the bottom of Claire's bag. She was planning on giving it to Alex first thing in the morning and couldn't wait to see his face. She knew he loved to feel the baby move so seeing his child for the first time would just push him over the edge. Claire had felt exactly the same.

"Claire? Do you know if Alex has a dipper somewhere?" Tess shouted from the kitchen.

"There must be one somewhere. We used it the other day for the pasta sauce. Try the third drawer from left…" Claire chuckled as she thought about her disaster with the pasta sauce. But cleaning it up afterwards had sure been fun…

"Found it!"

Claire sighed and got up. When Tess was looking for a dipper it was probably time to set the table. She looked on her watch. Alex was late today. He probably had to sort out a ton of things at work since tomorrow was his last day. Then they had all Friday to recover from Alex's birthday party and pack all the things together he wanted to take home right away. They hadn't talked about living arrangements yet because Claire knew she still had to tell Alex about their marriage. Nick had offered him to stay at Wilgul for as long as he wanted but Claire's news could change everything. She had mentioned to Tess though that it might be possible that Alex would be moving in on Drovers. So Tess had offered to move her things to the downstairs bedroom if Alex really moved in to give the young family their space. Claire gladly accepted the offer and prayed that Alex would take the news about the marriage well. She knew she should have told him right away but the time never seemed right and now it was getting harder and harder with each day that passed. But Claire had decided to tell Alex after his birthday and farewell party. She didn't want to ruin that for him in case he wasn't happy about it.

Alex came home almost an hour later than he had done all the previous days. First he had had to much to do then he had to wait for Karen to talk about the party the next day and if there was anything that still needed to be done. But now he was and having dinner with Claire, Nick and Tess. He was glad Tess had cooked with Nick's help. Not that he hadn't appreciated Claire's effort the other day but she was the world's worst cook…

Then his thoughts drifted off to that little velvet box in Karen's safe and he automatically got that broad smile again all over his face…

"Hey Ryan, don't tell me you're not hungry today…" Claire's words took Alex back into the real world.

"Get away Claire, when have I ever been not hungry…" He quickly said so she wouldn't get suspicious.

"Well, you haven't touched anything on your plate yet. It's really not all that bad, you know?"

"Claire!" Alex could see Tess's offended look.

"Ok, ok, your food is really delicious Tess and thanks for cooking…"

Later that evening after their siblings had left and Claire and Alex had gotten to bed they were in each others arms once more just enjoying being together. Alex wanted to do so much more with Claire but now was not the time. He had to ask her to marry him first. For once he wanted to get it right. To distract his thoughts from all the things he had mind for them he asked Claire if she had picked any names for the baby yet.

"Not really" was her answer "I think I have to see the baby first. Are there any names you like?"

"Well, Alexander or Alexandra would be nice…" he said winking at her.

"Forget it!"

"Why? They're good names…"

"Just because!"

"Well, we'll have to call our baby something till we agree on a name…Hey McLeod, how about BOM?"

"Yeah, BOM…Baby of McLeod…"

"Oh Alex…"she punched him but knew he was right. And BOM wasn't such a bad idea…at least until she found a name.

"Claire?"

She could feel his body tighten up next to her.

"What?"

"You know, I haven't really told you this in a long time but…I love you, you know?"

Claire looked up and her eyes met Alex's. "I know Alex, I love you, too. I think I've loved you all these years no matter what happened back then or ever since…" Alex closed the gap between them and gently kissed Claire. Now he was sure she would say yes tomorrow…


	13. Chapter 13

46

When Claire woke up the next morning Alex was still sound asleep. The baby had kicked her hard and she felt more and more uncomfortable being pregnant. Quietly she got up and took the wrapped present from her bag and went to the kitchen. She wanted to surprise Alex with a breakfast in bed like he had done the other day. Claire closed the bedroom door so he wouldn't wake up from the smell. If nothing could get Alex Ryan awake she was sure the smell of food could.

20 minutes later she had placed everything including her present on a tray and went back to the bedroom. Now Claire really regretted closing the door because there was no way she could open it now with the tray in hands and the baby bump in the way. "I can't wait till this baby is finally out!" she muttered as she put the tray away and opened the door. Luckily Alex was still asleep. So Claire placed the tray beside the bed and got down to kiss Alex awake. It took a while and several kisses till he finally started to move and opened one of his eyes. Claire smiled "Morning Ryan! Happy 30th birthday! How does it feel to be an oldie?" She gave him another kiss then reached down to get the tray.

"I've made you breakfast and nothing's burnt!" she said quite proud of herself.

"Morning Claire!" Alex sat up in bed and stretched. "This is a nice way of getting woken up. Not like the bloody alarm clock…What's this?" He asked and picked up Claire's present.

"It's my birthday present for you. It's not much but I hope you like it…"

"Aww Claire, you didn't have to get me something…"

"Will ya just open it Ryan?"

So Alex tore the wrapping paper off and then looked at the back of a picture frame. When he turned it around he didn't realize at first what he saw there.

"What's that?"

"Turn it around" Claire said "You got it upside down…"

He did and suddenly it dawned on him.

"Is that…our baby?" he looked at Claire and she smiled.

"Yes it is Alex…"

"Claire, it's beautiful…" he touched the picture and felt tears watering up in his eyes. That was his baby. His son. Or daughter.

"I have a video at home but when I left I thought I'd only be gone a day so I didn't bring it. But we can watch it once we're home. Then you can actually see her…"

"Or HIM!" Alex added and Claire laughed. "Thank you Claire, this is an amazing present. I'll take it to work with me today so I can show my son around…"

"Jeez Alex, I told you it'll be a girl…" Alex shut her up by placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "Thanks Claire, I feel like the luckiest man on earth…"

A few hours Claire picked Alex up in his office for lunch break. A nice young woman showed her the way to Alex's desk because he was still on the phone and not able to leave yet. He smiled when he saw Claire and pointed to a chair. On his desk Claire noticed the framed ultrasound picture she had given him that morning. Her heart warmed at the sight, he would be a great dad, already proud of his child.

When Alex finally finished the phone call he got up and kissed Claire hello. "I'm sorry, some of the customers are not happy I'm leaving. They keep calling…"

"It's ok Alex. It's actually amazing to see you like that. You act so differently here…"

"Is that good or bad?"

"Good…"

"Come on Claire, I want you to meet somebody…" He grabbed Claire's hand and pulled her up from the chair.

"We'll be late for the lunch with Bryce…"

"Won't be long" Alex said and took Claire to Karen's office and knocked.

"Karen, you got a minute? I want you to meet somebody…"

"Sure Alex, come in…"

"Karen, this is Claire…and our baby…Claire, this is my boss and friend Karen Cummings!"

Karen got up and offered Claire a hand "Nice to meet you Claire, I've heard quite a lot about you already!"

"I hope only nice things…"

"Of course. It's really nice to meet the person who's taking one of my best workers away from me…not to say a good friend as well."

"I'm really sorry…" Claire felt guilty. She liked Karen, she seemed like a nice person and Claire was glad Alex had found some friends here.

"It's ok, I can understand it…and I wish you all the best. Look…umm…I should get back to work now, I'll see you tonight Claire!"

After Claire and Alex had left Karen's office they went back to Alex's desk and picked up his things. Claire smiled as he also picked up the ultrasound picture.

Alex shrugged his shoulders "I gotta show it to Bryce, it's his grandchild after all…" he said and placed the picture in Claire's bag.

Then they left to meet up with Alex's father.

47

When Claire and Alex entered the restaurant Bryce was already waiting for them. They saw him waving and made their way to the table where he was seated.

"Come here Alex" Bryce said "Happy Birthday, son!" and he pulled Alex in for a hug. It was a little strange for Claire to see Alex together with Bryce and knowing this was his father. They seemed quite close. Claire had thought she knew everything about Alex since they had been best mates nearly all their life. But now she had to admit to herself that there was a whole new side of Alex she knew nothing about. He had built up a new life without her in those 9 months since he left.

Then Bryce let go of Alex and turned to Claire. "Ms McLeod! So good to see you again!" He shook Claire's hand and looked really pleased to see her again.

"Nice to see you again, too. And it's Claire Mr Redstaff…"

"Only if you call me Bryce! Shall we have a seat and order?"

So Alex helped Claire to sit down and they all took their menus to order. After having done that Bryce asked Claire "I hear you're taking my son back out into the country on Saturday?"

Claire wasn't sure what Alex had told Bryce about the pregnancy and going back home so she was cautious about her words.

"Yes, he agreed to come home with me for now…"

"I hope you plan on staying for longer Alex. You've got to take care of Claire and your baby!"

Claire was relieved. So Alex had told Bryce about the baby.

"I hope so too Bryce but we need to sort some things out first…" Alex replied with a side look on Claire always trying to get little hints that he could be sure she'd accept his proposal tonight.

They went on to talk about Bryce's family and Claire was once again surprised that Alex had other siblings than Nick. Even though none his sister's knew that they had a brother. They also talked about Claire's family and about Drovers run and Bryce was impressed by the fact that there were only women working on the farm.

Just before their meals were about to be served Claire excused herself to the bathroom and Bryce had some alone time with his son.

"She's a really nice woman Alex. Congrats…"  
"I know Bryce. No need to tell me." Alex had a huge smile on his face as he watched Claire disappear into the ladies room.

"What are your plans towards her? I can't imagine you don't have any…"  
"Ah, you know me too well…"

"Alex, you talked about that woman constantly in the last months and now she's here and pregnant with your baby…"

Alex laughed "Yeah, I guess that makes it pretty obvious. But you are right, I plan to propose to her at my birthday party tonight…"  
"That's wonderful news Alex! Congratulations!"

"She's still got to say yes though…" Alex looked a little unsure again.

"Oh I'm sure she will. They way she looks at you…"  
"You think? Oh Bryce, I forgot…I brought something for you I think you might want to see…" Alex reached for Claire's bag that was still resting on her chair and took the ultrasound picture out. "Claire gave it to me this morning…" he added as he handed Bryce the frame. You could hear the pride in his voice.

Bryce knew exactly what he was looking at, not only through his own children but also the 3 grandchildren he already had through Alex's sisters, all of them being boys.

"That's lovely Alex! Thank you for showing me. Is it a boy or a girl?"

That was the way Claire found them, leaning over the ultrasound picture discussing the advantages of having a boy or a girl. She smiled and said "There's nothing to discuss, it'll be a girl anyway…"

When they had finished their lunch it was time for Alex and Bryce to get back to work and for Claire to head back to Alex's apartment to meet with her sister and his brother do they could get ready for the big party. So they all said their goodbyes and they promised to stay in touch and would let Bryce know as soon as the baby was born.

Before they left Bryce pulled Alex in for another hug and gave him a slap on the shoulder "Good luck son…" he said "I expect to hear from you soon…" Then he went on and hugged Claire as well and whispered into her ear "Take good care of him…" Claire was moved. Bryce did really care about Alex. "I promise…" she said and then they all went their separate ways.

48

It was Thursday evening now and Tess, Nick and Claire had just arrived at the office building where Alex worked. The birthday/farewell party was set to start at 7 and Alex had had so much to do on his last day that he didn't have time to come home before that. Now that his brother and the McLeod sisters arrived he was just putting the last of his personal belongings in a box.

"Busy?" Claire asked as they approached him.

"Ah, you're here! No, just finished packing up."

"Hey Al…Happy Birthday!" Nick went over to Alex and hugged him. "You're an oldie now!"

"Oh shut up…" Alex punched him friendly and smiled. Then he took a look around the room and sighed "I think I'm gonna miss this place. It was nice working here. Come on, everybody's waiting in the conference room. I wonder what Karen did with it! I wasn't allowed to go near it the whole afternoon!"

"Hey, can I give a hug too first?" Tess put her hands on her hips and looked at Alex.

"Ah…sure Tess! Come here…" So she pulled him in for a hug and said "Happy Birthday Alex! I'm really glad to have you back in our lives…" She whispered the last comment into his ears as it was only meant for him.

"Ok everybody, are we ready to party?" Alex asked and put one of his arms around Claire while he was still holding Tess in the other.

When they entered the conference room it was like hell broke loose. Everybody in there was shouting Happy Birthday Alex just not exactly at the same time. Karen had been sneaking around the corner and had warned them when she saw Alex coming with his friends.

"Aw, thanks guys!" Alex said and looked around the room. It was decorated with balloons and streamers and the lights had been covered with colourful papers. On one end of the room he saw a huge sign that read 'Happy 30th Birthday and don't you dare forget us!' Alex was really moved by all of this, he had found some great friends here that was for sure.

While Karen introduced Claire, Tess and Nick to everybody Alex headed over to the table that held all of his presents by his colleagues. He looked like a little child as he saw how many things there were…

"Can I start unpacking?" He asked Karen who was finished with her introduction round.

"Go ahead Alex…" Karen said and she smiled because she knew what most packages were holding.

As Alex unwrapped the first package he held a set of baby bottles in his hands and looked very surprised. The more presents he opened the more baby things appeared. Karen laughed and said "We thought we'd prepare you for your new job. But we also have a present here that's just for you…Steve?"

Steve got up and held a rather big, rectangular package in his hands. "To make sure you don't forget us too easily we got you this…" he said and handed Alex the present. Alex ripped the paper apart and saw a framed picture of all of his colleagues and a huge card sticking to the frame. So he put the picture on a nearby table and opened the card. It was a farewell card that was signed by everybody.

"Thanks guys, this is great! I have no clue where I'll put it up but I'll think of something. I won't forget you, I promise!"

Then it was time for everybody to sit down and eat so they could finally start with the fun part of the evening…the party games!

Claire, Tess and Nick had all stood a little aside the whole time and had observed the whole scene exchanging looks from time to time. This was really a totally different Alex from the one they knew.

After dinner and the party games had come to an end the tables were quickly moved to the side to build a huge dance floor in the middle. Karen dimmed the lights and put some music on and everybody started to dance.

"Wanna have a go?" Nick asked Tess and after she had nodded pulled her up and took her to the dance floor.

Claire wasn't in the mood for dancing with her huge belly so she just stayed where she was watching her sister and Nick laugh and dance.

"They're a cute couple, aren't they?" Alex said as he came up and got down next to her.

Claire smiled "Yes, they are, I only hope they would realize they belong together. They've been playing around for way too long…"

"Hey, just think about how long it took us to get together!"

"Jeez Ryan, I really hope it doesn't take them that long…"

"I know, just think of all the time we've wasted…" He leaned over and kissed her softly. "Claire, I don't really know if this is the right time or place but I just have to ask you this…" Alex pulled out the velvet box he had gotten back from Karen a few minutes ago and opened it. HeThen he got down on one knee in front of her and since the CD had just ended the whole room went silent by the sight.

"Claire, you are the one person that has always been there for me no matter what. And now you're carrying our child. I never thought I could feel as happy as this. I love you more than my life. There's only one thing that could make this feeling even more perfect…Claire McLeod, will you marry me?"

From the time Alex had gotten down on one knee Claire had known she was in deep trouble. When she now heard him as he asked her to marry her she started crying. Here he was with the most perfect ring she had ever seen and she was speechless.

"Claire?" Alex voice finally came through to her and she knew she had to say something.

"Alex…I…I can't…" She saw his face drop. Shit, that wasn't supposed to sound like that. Then she saw Alex's face turn to anger.

"Well, thank you making a complete fool of myself here…" Alex got up and turned around to walk away.

Claire got up. "Alex wait, let me explain…"

He stopped and turned around. "What is left to explain? I asked you to marry me and you said no…in front of everybody!"

"Alex, please, let's go somewhere where we can talk alone…"  
"No Claire, you turned me down in front of all my friends, my brother and your sister. Now you might as well tell all of them why…"

"Alex…"

"No Claire, if you want to explain, do it here!"

"All right Alex, you wanted it like that…" Claire was now as mad as he was. It was his own fault! "I can't marry you because…because we are still married!"

49

Alex turned around "Like that's an excuse for…" then Claire's words finally sunk in. "We are WHAT?"

"Alex please, can we go somewhere else?" Claire pleaded. She could feel everybody's eyes staring at her and Alex. Especially the sets of eyes of a certain brother and sister. "Alex?" Claire took his hand because Alex seemed to be in a whole different universe. "Come on, let's go somewhere else and talk about it…alone!" she said and practically pulled him out of the conference room leaving some very confused people behind.

"What was that?" Tess asked Nick after her sister had dragged Alex away.

"I don't know…my brother asked your sister to marry him and then Claire said something about still being married…that is if I really heard correctly!"

"Ok, then we both heard the same thing…do you know anything about that? I mean, when the hell did they get married?"

"I don't know Tess, I really don't know…"

"This is getting weirder and weirder…first she runs off to Melbourne without thinking, then suddenly Alex is the father of her baby and now they're married…I feel like I don't know my own sister!"

Outside the conference room Claire was looking for some place where she could talk to Alex in private without anybody interrupting them. He still hadn't said a single word nor did he really react to what she was saying.

"Alex, come on mate! Help me here. Is there anywhere we can go and talk properly?" Finally Alex woke up out of his daze. "We could probably use Karen's office" he said but Claire could tell he still wasn't fully with her.

"And where is that? Come on Alex…" So he took the lead and showed Claire the way to the office. When they had reached it they sat down on the sofa in there, Alex on one end, Claire on the other.

Silence filled the room because none of them knew where to start. It was Claire who finally spoke up "I'm sorry Alex…I…I should have told you earlier…"

He looked up "Since when do you know?" There was still no sign of emotion in his face. Claire's heart sank. What if she had lost him again?

"Only for about 10 days. I found out the day before I left to look for you…"

"So that was the real reason you went to find me? Because you wanted to end our marriage?"

"Alex, you're jumping to conclusions again, I never said anything about ending it, did I? I wanted to find you to tell you about it and about the baby and we decide together what to do…"

"Then why didn't you tell me earlier? You could have told me so many times!" Alex got up and started pacing around the office.

"The time was never right…first you had to digest the fact that I'm pregnant and then Nick and Tess showed up. Then we had that thing with Liz and today is your birthday. There was never time enough to tell you…"

"How did you find out? I mean, I signed the annulment papers ten years ago? What happened to them?" Alex was still restless walking through the office. When he had reached one end he would turn around and start walking again.

"Alex, can you please sit down somewhere? You're making me dizzy spinning around like that!" Alex gave her a strange look but sat down in Karen's chair behind the desk. "How Claire? Why are we still married?" he asked again.

"I don't know how it happened really…but I found the annulment papers at the bottom of a box that had been in the attic. I can't remember how they got in there but it looks like I never sent them off…I'm sorry. I never meant to tell you like this…not in front of all these people…"

Silence filled the room again and it was almost too much for Claire. She really didn't know what else she could say or do. It was up to him now.

Alex got up again without a word and went over to one of the large windows and took a look outside over the city night. He couldn't believe what Claire had just told him. It was like her words still hadn't fully reached him. He had heard them but they hadn't made it to his brain yet. He was married to Claire McLeod. Married! They had been married ever since that day 10 years ago. The day before the accident where Claire had lost their baby. And now she was pregnant again. And they were married. Married! His thoughts went in circles but he always came back to the same point. Claire was his wife. When he finally realized the full meaning of that the tears started to fall and with a sob he bent his knees because they wouldn't carry him anymore…

When Claire saw Alex sitting down on the floor and crying she got worried. This was not like Alex at all. She could count the times she had seen him cry on one hand. One of them being the day she lost their baby. So she crossed the room and got down on the floor next to him taking him in her arms.

"Alex, I'm so sorry…I never meant to hurt you…" His sobbing got louder but then Claire could feel it turn into a laughter more and more. "Alex, are you all right?" she asked him not knowing what was going on.

"Oh Claire…" he finally said "Those are not tears of sorrow. Those are tears of joy…" he was now laughing hard.

"And what's so funny about that?" Claire was confused.

"Do you have ANY idea how many times I've wished in the past 10 years that you would say that to me? That I would wake up next to you and the whole accident and annulment had only been a bad dream?"

Claire looked at him surprised. "But you had a new girlfriend every week…"

"That was never anything serious. I only had them because I couldn't have you…my heart broke into pieces when you hooked up with the knob…but who was I to judge when I had all those women…"

"Alex…I don't know what to say now…where do we go from here? I mean, where does that take us…SHIT, I don't know what to say…" Now Claire's mind was going in circles. Alex had caught her off guard with his confession.

"Claire, I still mean what I said when I proposed to you earlier…I love you more than my life and I want you to be my wife. And the fact that we are indeed already married is just the icing on the cake…I feel like the luckiest man on earth!" He leaned towards her and placed a gentle kiss on her lips "If you want me back as your husband I would love to be just that. Claire McLeod's husband and the father of her unborn child…"

"Oh Alex, of course I want you back! These last days I spent with you…I think I fell in love with you all over again…"

Then they kissed again, this time more passionate. When they finally ended the kiss Alex realized he still had the little box with the engagement ring in his pocket.

"Claire, I know I'm 10 years late but…this ring…I bought it for you and I would love it if you decided to wear it. I mean…we are married but you never got a proper ring back then so…"

"The ring is wonderful Alex and I'd love to wear it…" So Alex took the ring out of the box and slipped it on Claire's left hand. It fit perfectly. They kissed again.

After a while Alex said "I think we should get up and face the world outside Claire. We left them with a few questions I would guess…" he got up and looked down on Claire.  
"Probably…umm…Alex, I think you'll have to help me up, there's no way I can get on my feet alone…"

So Alex helped Claire back up and they left Karen's office with their arms wrapped around each other.


	14. Chapter 14

50

After Claire and Alex had left the conference room together the silence suddenly broke into a common mumble. Everybody wanted to know what was going on. Alex had never talked about a girlfriend so it had been quite a surprise when they all found out about the baby. But now he seemed to be married! Grand discussions and speculations about what could have happened started.

When Claire and Alex walked back into the conference room holding each other tight the room went silent in a heartbeat once more. Everybody looked at them expecting to hear some sort of explanation. Alex smiled "What kind of a party is that when nobody's talking or dancing? It's my birthday and I wanna dance…with my wife!" He added and kissed Claire. He knew everybody in the room was waiting for him to make an announcement but he wasn't ready to give in just yet. This was way too much fun! So he walked over to the CD player, looked for a slow song to put on and finally went back to Claire. "May I have this dance Claire?" She just smiled at him and nodded so Alex took her hand and led her to the middle of the dance floor swaying her in his arms. Claire moved as close to him as her baby bump would allow and rested her head on Alex's shoulder.

The whole room just watched the couple dance, still in silence. Then the mumbling started again. Tess and Nick looked at each other, both not knowing what the hell was going on with their siblings. Here they were and thought they knew everything about them and now it looked like Claire and Alex had been hiding something as big as a marriage for quite a while. "You wanna dance, too? I don't think we'll get an appropriate answer out of them right now anyway…" Nick asked Tess and she agreed. When they were on the dance floor with Claire and Alex more and more people joined them and everything looked the way it had before Alex's proposal.

The rest of the evening passed without any more embarrassing moments and one by one Alex's colleagues and friends left until there were only Karen, Nick and Tess and of course Claire and Alex left. Silence filled the room. Nick and Tess didn't know if Alex wanted to talk about everything in front of Karen and Karen wasn't sure where to start. She was the only one of Alex's colleagues who knew about what had happened. Finally she pulled her courage together and asked "Umm, Alex…now that everybody's gone…don't you think you've got some explaining to do? Not that I'm nosy or anything but you two left a lot of surprised people when you left the room and came back without an explanation." Karen looked at Nick and Tess who were sitting next to each other and added "And from the look at your siblings I can tell they don't have a clue either…so spill the beans! What is that about that marriage thing?"

Alex and Claire looked at each other. They knew they would have to explain it at one point anyway so they sighed and Alex said "Ok, let's sit down together then. I guess you have a right to know anyway…"

"Oh yes!" Tess enforced. So they all moved a couple chairs together and sat down. Alex knew Claire wouldn't be comfortable telling the story so he spoke up "Ok, where do I start?"

"How about the beginning?" Tess suggested but just lifted her hands in excuse when Claire shot her a look.

"That's the problem Tess" Alex continued "there is no real beginning to this. I've known Claire all my life and as far as I'm concerned I think I've been in love with her ever since I first saw her…" Claire nodded in agreement. "So this is not easy…all right I think I know where I'll start, at the rodeo…" And Alex told 3 surprised people the story of how Claire had gotten pregnant, their decision to marry, the miscarriage and the annulment that they now knew never happened, how they had separated and slowly become friends again. He told them about what had happened after he had found out about Harry and finished with how Claire had found the annulment papers and how she had gone to find him. He ended the story with "This is it, now you know everything…" and squeezed Claire's hand tightly. Their gazes locked and he leaned over and kissed her. Then he turned back to the 3 people in front of him. It seemed like they were all lost for words. It was Tess who then asked the question that they probably all had on their mind.

"And what happens next? I mean…do you plan on carrying on your marriage…think about divorce…I don't think you can still annul a marriage after such a long time…will you move into Drovers run with us now…Jeez, I missed my sister's wedding! Do you plan on remarrying or anything?" Once Tess had started there was no stopping her, the words seemed to just well out of her with no sign of an end. Claire had tried to say something a couple times but never got a word. When Tess stopped for a second now to breathe in she took her chance. "Tess…how are we supposed to answer any questions when you keep going like this?"

"You see Claire, there's just so much on my mind right now…"

"I know, but would you let us explain…"

"Ok, ok, I'll shut up…" Tess looked at Nick for support but he was still digesting what his brother had told him.

"Ok, here's what we've decided…well, not really decided but it's what I think we both kind of agreed on…We will continue this marriage…after all I'm pregnant and Alex asked me to marry him again so it would be a stupid thing not to do it, right?" she looked at Alex and he nodded in agreement and went on "As far as the living arrangements are concerned…I know you suggested I move into Wilgul with you Nick but…I think if Claire wants me to be there I'd rather live on Drovers with her and our baby. She'd never live anywhere else and we're married so…" This time it was Claire that nodded and said "Of course I want you there with me…" They kissed again. That was solved then.

"What about remarrying? I mean…you never gave anybody a chance to be at your wedding…it would only be fair if you decided to have another ceremony…" Tess asked.

"Let me have this baby first, Tess, then we'll see…" was all Claire could give her at the moment. She didn't wanna go into endless discussions about the if, when, where with Tess. At least not right now. All she wanted was to go home to Alex's apartment and be alone with him…

"You're sure full of surprises Alex Ryan!" They had all forgotten about Karen a little who was still sitting there next to Nick and Tess. "I thought I got to know you quite well these past 8 months but I would have never expected that!"

"Believe me Karen, I know Alex my whole life but that's news to me as well!" Nick interrupted her shaking his head.

Karen smiled at Nick understanding what he felt like and added "But I guess it's a good thing so…Congratulations! On everything!" she went over and hugged first Alex then Claire. "Well, I think it's all time for us to go home now…I got a long work day tomorrow…" They all agreed and packed all of Alex's birthday presents together and left the building. Karen was the first to leave with Alex promising her they'd stay in touch. The remaining four put all the things in Alex's car and set a time they'd meet again the next day to pack together what Alex wanted to take home with him.

51

Trying to unlock the door to his apartment Alex looked down on Claire who was nestled in his arms leaning her head against his shoulder. It was past midnight and way past their bedtime. And the events of the evening had exhausted them even more. "Claire…" Alex asked.

"Hmm?"

"Claire, I can't open the door with you in my arms, sorry…"

"Oh…" she said and lifted her head off his shoulder, kissing him on the cheek and getting out of his embrace.

Alex finally opened the door and let them inside. He put his briefcase down on the floor while Claire headed straight for the couch.

"Finally…" she said as she put her feet up. Although she had been sitting most of the evening her feet were still swollen heavily. "This feels SO good!"

"What?" Alex had walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead.

"Putting my feet up…and resting my back! I can't wait till this baby is finally out and everything's back to normal…" Alex started feeling a little guilty again. He was the one that had put her in this situation.

"Sorry Claire…"

"Oh Alex, don't start that again! It was both of us, remember? And we can't change it now and I actually don't want to. Let me just moan a little here while you go down and get the rest of the stuff, ok?"

"Ok boss!" he winked at her and placed another kiss on her forehead and then left again to get his birthday presents from the car.

When he came back he found Claire sound asleep on the couch, already lost in her dreams. So he decided to put the presents away first and then change into something comfier. He stripped down to his boxers and then decided to wake Claire up and get her to bed. If he let her sleep on the couch her back would only be a lot worse in the morning.

So he went back into the living room and lowered himself on the floor next to Claire.

'God she's beautiful…' he thought and then 'We're married…she's my wife!' He felt that warm feeling making its way through his body again like it had earlier. Alex leaned forward and gently kissed her to wake her up again.

Claire shifted a little on the couch and muttered "Oh Alex…" against his lips. She was still not fully awake but at the sound of her words Alex couldn't help but deepen the kiss. Claire was now kissing him back, completely awake and aware of what's going on. She ran her hands through his hair pulling him closer and closer to her. Claire moved a little making space for Alex to sit down next to her then their lips were locked again losing all track of time.

Suddenly Alex broke away from Claire and sat up catching his breath.

"I've got to stop this Claire…" he said with a breathless voice. "If we don't stop I can't guarantee for anything…"

"But I don't want you to stop…" Claire tried to pull him back down.

"Claire…I can't…" His hands cupped her face while his thumbs started rubbing her cheeks.

"Why? What's up? Don't you want it?"  
"I want you more than anything Claire but…"  
"Then what's the matter Alex? We're married, we're allowed to do this!" Claire put her right hand on Alex's left hand and looked him deep in the eye.

"Claire, it's not that…I...you're pregnant…"  
"I know…and?"  
"Well…I don't wanna hurt the baby…"

Claire couldn't help but laugh out loud. Here he was, Alex Ryan, wanting a woman but not wanting her at the same time.

"Alex, the baby will be fine, she'll love it that her parents are back together…"

"Are you sure?" he wasn't convinced just yet.

"Come on Ryan, trust me just this once, ok? I've read all about it…it's no problem to have sex while you're pregnant…"

"Guess I haven't reached that chapter yet then…" he mumbled.

"You're reading a book?" Claire was surprised.

"Well, I thought…it's always good to know what's going on…" he looked a little lost not really knowing what to say. The root rat Alex Ryan was reading a book about pregnancy…with a pregnant wife lying next to him…

Claire released him from his thoughts by sitting up too and kissing him again. "I love you, you know that?" She smiled and added "And now's not the time for talking…" She looked him deep in the eyes again, put her hands on his face and kissed him again, this time more passionate than before. He kissed her back with all his heart as her hands moved from his face to his bare chest pulling him as close to her body as she could.

"Claire…" was all Alex could say and they got off the couch and moved slowly towards the bedroom together, kissing all the time. Alex fumbled with the zipper of Claire's dress and finally it fell on the floor. For the first time he was rubbing the bare skin of her belly.

Claire suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. Not because Alex had his hands on her tummy but because of the rather unsexy underwear she was wearing.

Alex felt her tension up in his arms and he got away from Claire.

"What's wrong? We can still stop this if it's not right for you?"

"No! It's just…that pregnancy underwear…it's not…you know…"

Alex smiled. "Oh Claire, I honestly don't care what your underwear looks like right now as long as you're in it…or rather out of it…" he winked at her and bent down to place kisses all over her stomach and Claire felt relieved. She pulled Alex up again and led him to the bed. She wanted him…NOW!

They removed the rest of their underwear and then there was no stopping them. Alex was as gentle as he could be still afraid to hurt the baby and Claire felt like she was in heaven…

Afterwards they crawled under the sheets and Claire curled up in Alex's arms. They were both exhausted but satisfied and content.

"Wow Claire…that was…wow!" Alex kissed her on the head.

"Well, you weren't too bad yourself Mr Ryan…"

"Thanks Mrs Ryan…" That sounded good…at least to Alex!

"I'm NOT Mrs Ryan…I would feel like your Mum!" Claire started shaking "Nope, I'll definitely NEVER be Mrs Ryan!"

"So tell me then, since we are married what is your name?"

"McLeod…Tess and I are the last McLeods, we gotta keep the name alive…" Alex could hear she was serious about that and then she added "You could change your name to McLeod…Alex McLeod, doesn't sound too bad…"

"Get away Claire, I'm glad I know who I am now, don't need any more name confusions…"

"Ok, ok, was just a thought…maybe, just maybe I might add a little Ryan to my name…"

"What you mean…maybe?" Alex started tickling Claire "You WILL add Ryan and that's that!"

"Make me!" Claire said and looked Alex in the eyes. He could see passion rising in them again.

"You trying to seduce me McLeod?" He liked that thought.

"Well, try and find out…"

They didn't get much sleep that night…

52

Nick and Tess drove back to their hotel in silence. Both of them were still trying to fully understand what their siblings had just told them. It had always been obvious that Claire and Alex had a special connection but who would have thought it was something as big as a marriage!

"I still can't believe it…" Tess finally broke the silence. "They're married…husband and wife! That's…that's…I really don't know what to say…"

"I know what you mean, Tess. I've known them all my life but I would have never expected something like that!" Nick shook his head. Unbelievable! "I thought I knew everything about Alex, the way he is, how his mind works but here I am…totally clueless…" Nick felt a bit left out with Claire and Alex now being so close. He had always been good friends with Claire, he had always known he could tell her anything and she wouldn't judge him. And Alex was his brother! They fought with each other, always trying to be better than the respective other but deep down inside they had always been as close as they could be. And now he had to find out that the two people closest to him had been hiding a huge secret all these years. It didn't matter that they hadn't known they were still married, it was the fact they hadn't told him in the first place that hurt the most.

"Nick, what's going on? You look…well…lost a little..." Tess broke into Nick's thoughts.

"Nothing, really, I mean…I don't know, Tess, am I stupid for being jealous of them?"

"Why are you jealous?" Tess didn't really know what he wanted to tell her. She had always thought although Harry and Jack had made all those plans of getting Nick and Claire together that it had always only been friendship between the two. Had she been wrong? Carefully she asked "Does this have something to do with the fact you were supposed to marry Claire?"

"What? No! Where did you get that from?" They had arrived at the hotel now and were still sitting in the car.

"I don't know, Claire once told me you two were supposed to get married. I thought you didn't feel anything for her but now you tell me you're jealous…"

"Tess, I'm not jealous of Alex for having married Claire, I'm jealous of what they have…they're my best friends and I feel like I've lost them…they've been hiding this from me all those years! I thought they trusted me!"

"Oh Nick, I'm sorry…I know I'm shocked by what they told us but…I wasn't here back when it happened so this is just weird news for me. I never thought about how this must be for you…" Tess felt sorry for Nick. She could understand his feelings but she didn't really know what she could do to make him feel better.  
"Nick, I know it's late…but maybe you'd like to join me for a cup of coffee and we talk about it…maybe it'll help…" She really hoped he would say yes. She didn't really wanna be alone at the moment, she wanted to have someone to talk to.

Nick smiled "Same old Tess, huh? Talking will cure everything…but maybe you're right. I don't think I can sleep anyway…so, where to?"

"Since I don't think the bar's still open…my room?"

"Ok, your room it is then…"

They got out of the car and made their way up to Tess's room in silence. Once inside Tess went to make them two sups of coffee while Nick sat down in the arm chair by the window and looked out into the night.

When Tess came back with the cups he was again miles away, lost in his thoughts. "Nick?" she carefully asked.

"Oh Tess…ah, that coffee smells good."

Tess handed him one of the cups and said "So do you wanna talk about it?"

"I don't know where to start…It feels kinda stupid to be jealous when I should be happy for them. They love each other and are expecting a baby, they would have married one day anyway…"

"Yeah, but this is different, they've been married for 10 years...why don't you start at the beginning? Your childhood with the two…I wasn't there so I don't know much about that. Only what you and Claire told me…"

"You really wanna hear that? Well, ok then…" And Nick told her about how Alex and him had met Claire for the first time, the tricks they had played on each other, how they had become best friends. He told her about how his rodeo accident had changed his and Alex's relationship and how that had gotten Claire and Alex closer together. Maybe that had been the start of their love for each other. He told her about how he had watched Claire and Alex get closer and closer and then all of a sudden not speaking a word with the other. Now he knew that was the time that Claire had lost the baby and had asked Alex for the annulment of their marriage but back then he couldn't figure out what was wrong. But it somehow brought him and Alex closer together again and his friendship with Claire deepened too. It took a while till Alex and Claire would act normally again round each other but it slowly happened and everything got back to the way it had been when they were kids. Best of friends, always there for each other.

"And now I've lost that again…" he finished looking even more lost than he had before. Tess had been quiet mostly, only asking a few questions here and there when he didn't know how to go on. But now she spoke up "No Nick, you haven't lost them. It'll just be different. Relationships change…even those of brothers and best friends" She got up from where she had been sitting on the bed and got down next to him so she could look him in the eye. "And you'll always have a friend in me. You know that, don't you?" she said taking his hands.

"But how am I supposed to ever trust them again when I can't be sure if they trust me?"

"Because they're still same old Claire and Alex…they never talk about their feelings, never have. And this is all about that, isn't it? They won't change just because they're married. They'll still need you and me and all the help we can give them…"  
Nick smiled, Tess was right. It might not be like it was when they were kids, when everything was perfect but they were still his best friends. And he now knew he could always go to Tess as well. It felt so good, so safe talking to her. He didn't know why but he could tell her anything.

"Thanks Tess, that really helped…"

"What, the coffee or the talk?" she asked with a wink "You're welcome. Somehow we're both in a similar situation so we should stick together right?"

"Yeah, we should…jeez it's late! I think I should get back to my own room…" Nick got up not really wanting to leave but he knew it was the right thing to do. Tess nodded and walked him to the door of her room where they stopped.

"Thank you for being such a great listener, Tess. Good night."

Tess looked up and realized how close they were standing together. Her heart started racing. "Night Nick…" she whispered as she saw his face move closer and closer and finally felt his lips on hers. It was a soft kiss, not demanding. More like a good night kiss. But it felt so good…

Nick left without another word and left a dizzy and confused Tess behind. What did he want to tell her by kissing her? Was it just a good night kiss for a friend or much more?

53

Alex woke up to the annoying sound of the doorbell ringing. He turned slightly and tried to free his arm because Claire had rested her head on it, still sound asleep. They both hadn't found any sleep till the sun already began to rise so it was a miracle one of them had woken up to the doorbell. 'Damn it! Where are my boxers?' Alex thought. Him and Claire were still wearing nothing but their smiles but he had to get to the door now. He knew who was waiting at the door so boxers would be enough.

"You know Al…if you want us to help, you gotta let us in…" Nick greeted his brother as Alex opened the door and Tess added "Wow Alex…nice outfit!"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry, we overslept…actually Claire is still asleep. Have you had breakfast yet? I'm starving!" Alex walked past his brother and sister-in-law into the kitchen. There wasn't much left in there again because they would be leaving tomorrow but it was enough to fix himself a sandwich. "Want one?" He asked Nick and Tess when he came back into the living room. They had sat down on the couch waiting for Alex.

"Nah thanks, we already had something to eat at the hotel…so where do we start?" Tess wanted to know.

"Living room, then Claire can sleep a little longer…"

"Why is she asleep at that time of day anyway? That doesn't sound like the Claire I know…" Tess looked on her watch. It was already 10 in the morning. Alex just answered her with a huge grin on his face and Tess commented "Let me guess…I don't wanna know the details…"

They started packing Alex's stuff in boxes as quietly as they could to not wake Claire up. Being so close to her due date none of them wanted her to help so she would have been in the way anyway. About an hour after they had started a still sleepy Claire emerged from the bedroom wearing one of Alex's shirts.

"Why didn't you wake me?" she said rubbing her eyes. Tess was the only one in the living room at that time, the Ryan brothers were carrying boxes down to Alex's car. He still drove his black ute so they could fit quite a few things inside.

"Alex said he wore you out last night and you needed the sleep…" Tess said without looking up, trying to hide her smile.

"He said WHAT? I'm gonna kill him!" Claire was fuming up, how could he?

"Calm down Claire" Tess now looked up with a huge grin on her face "I was only winding you up! He didn't say anything. But he opened the door in his boxers so I put 2 and 2 together…plus you look like you're glowing today…"

"I do?" Claire tried to catch her reflection in one of the windows. "Oh…" she sat down on the couch.

Just then Alex and Nick came back from outside.

"Look who we have here…Mrs Ryan…" Nick said and winked at her.

"McLeod-Ryan" Claire corrected him and added "and that's not even the final decision…"

Nick looked amused at his big brother. "She bossing you around already, huh?"

"Always Nick, always!" Alex replied and went over to give Claire a good morning kiss.

"Don't you have enough after last night?" Tess rolled her eyes.

"Never…"Alex muttered. "Never!" but Nick brought him back to reality real quick.

"Hey you two, have you decided how to tell Mum the good news?"

Claire and Alex parted and looked at each other. They both hadn't thought about telling anyone. The two most important people knew.

"I probably should also tell Bryce. I told him I wanted to propose but now…" Alex said to Claire.

"Yeah, you should…"

"I don't wanna do it on the phone though, especially not Bryce…I could live without Mum's reaction though…" Alex rolled his eyes. He wasn't exactly sure how Liz would take the news but he knew Bryce would be happy for him.

"You think we could tell them together…I mean…I don't know if they've met since…you know…"

"You mean since their affair? Yes, they have met, Bryce told me Mum visited him a couple of times telling him about me. And it might be a good idea to tell them together. We only have to explain it once and Mum might not explode as much with Bryce around…I should call them."

They had agreed not to go out for dinner because they thought a public place was not the best to tell something like that. Instead they had invited Bryce and Liz to have a farewell dinner in Alex's apartment with Tess and Nick as backup. Both of Alex's parents had agreed to come and now that everything Alex wanted to take home was neatly packed and stored in the cars and Tess and Nick had cooked them all a nice dinner the only two missing were Bryce and Liz. With every passing minute Claire and Alex got more nervous while Tess and Nick got more amused about their older siblings.

Tess was sitting on the bed while Claire was walking from around checking her appearance every 5 seconds.

"Stop pacing around like there's a swarm of bees behind you Claire!" Tess told her sister. "You're making me dizzy!"

"I'm nervous Tess! How do you tell your mother-in-law she's been that for 10 years without knowing?"

"I don't know Claire, but you and Alex created that mess, now you've got to get yourself out there again…"  
"You're no big help there…"

Out on the balcony Alex and Nick had a similar conversation when finally the door bell rang. "Here we go!" Nick said and Alex looked at him "Wish me luck!"

"Good luck Al…Lord knows you'll need it!"

Alex and Claire met in the living room and looked in each others eyes. Then they nodded and went to open the door together…


	15. Chapter 15

54

"Mum, Bryce, come in…" Alex said while holding Claire's hand for support.

"Good to see you again Alex! Claire!" Liz said and first kissed Claire on the cheek then Alex. Bryce shook Alex's hand and kissed Claire's. "Thanks for the invitation! It was a surprise for sure…but a nice one." Alex closed the door while Claire led his parents in the living room where they had set up the table for all of them and Nick and Tess were already waiting.

After a warm welcome for Nick and a rather cool one for Tess Liz looked around. "This place looks so empty dear…"

"Well Mum, most of my things are already packed and loaded into the cars…we're leaving tomorrow morning."

"I know and I really hate to see you leave…"

"Mum, we've had that conversation…I need to go…"

"I know, but I still don't have to like it, do I? I just got you back…"

"Why don't we all sit down and Nick and Tess can tell us what they have cooked for us…" Claire interrupted Alex and his mother. She didn't want them fighting even before the news about their marriage were out. There would probably be enough fighting afterwards…

"Right" Alex replied and everybody sat down and Tess and Nick served the Tandori chicken they had made.

While eating the four younger people made sure the conversation stayed on easy topics…they had all decided that the big announcement was to be made after dinner.

Bryce knew that Alex had wanted to propose to Claire and the ring on Claire's finger showed that something in that direction had happened so he just smiled to himself. But Liz had no idea what was going on so she was really curious about when Claire and Alex would tell them about the ring…

When they were all finished eating she could barely hold herself back from asking. "That was lovely Tess, thank you very much…" she said with the sweetest voice. Even if she didn't like her she had to admit the girl could cook.

"Oh, thanks Liz…it's not all my merit though, Nick was a great help…" Tess smiled.

"Ah, good…so Alex…do I see a ring on Claire's finger there?" Liz couldn't stand the curiosity anymore, she just had to ask. "Does that mean you're getting married?" She saw Claire and Alex looking at each other. "What?"

"Mum…Bryce…the reason why we asked you to come here tonight is…well…we have to tell you something and we're not sure if…if you'll like it…"

"What is it Alex? You didn't say no to him Claire, did you?" Bryce was now a little concerned.

Claire shook her head. "Umm, no I didn't…well, I actually did but it's a little more complicated than that…why don't we all sit down on the couch…" and so they did. Bryce and Liz looked at Alex expecting him to explain what Claire had just said.

"Ok, where do I start…right…well, yesterday I asked Claire to marry me and like she just told you she said she couldn't marry me…"  
"What? Claire…why?" Liz exclaimed but Bryce tried to calm her down. He saw in Alex's face that there was more to this story "Let your son finish Liz, I'm sure there's a reason Claire refused…right?"

"Indeed there is…and I promise I didn't know about it till yesterday either! Where was I…oh right…I asked Claire and she said no so when I asked her why she told us we were already married…"

This time Liz only gasped and her face dropped while Bryce looked confused and asked "How can you not know you're married?"

"It's a long story…" Alex looked at his mother and asked "Are you ok, Mum? Do you want something to drink?"

Liz, who still hadn't fully recovered from what she had heard just nodded and Claire got up to get her some water. Liz took a couple sips and then simply asked "When?" So Claire and Alex once more told the story about what had happened 10 years ago, this time leaving out the more juicy parts.

"10 years! How could you do that to us…10 years! I'm very disappointed…" After they were finished with the story Liz was obviously not pleased with what she had heard. Of course she had always wanted one of her sons to marry Claire McLeod but not like this!

"Mum, calm down! You can't change it now!" Alex was mad at his mother. He had guessed she wouldn't be happy about it but he had hoped she could at least accept it. But by the expression on her face that wasn't going to happen. Bryce hadn't said anything yet so Alex looked at him trying to read his face. "Bryce? What do you think about it?"

Bryce looked at Alex and smiled "Well, I had hoped to be invited to your wedding but…this is better I guess…I mean at least you tried to do the right thing. I guess you're happy about it?" He knew how much Alex had missed Claire.

"Yes I am…we both are…"

"How can you say that Bryce? He's been married and never told us…" Liz shouted. She was crying now. Bryce took her hand and said. "I know…but think about it, he was only trying to do the right thing…and besides, they thought they had annulled the marriage so they didn't know they were married…" Alex just watched his father deal with his mother. He was glad now that they had invited both this evening. Neither him nor Claire would have been able to deal with a furious Liz. It would have ended in a disaster.

"But…but…" Liz didn't really know what to say. Deep down in her heart she knew Bryce was right. Alex had done what his father hadn't…he had married the woman he got pregnant. Looking at it this way calmed her down. She wiped away the tears with the tissue Claire had just handed her and looked at her son's wife. "Well, I guess I have to live with it…after all it's the best for the baby, right?" She managed to form a little smile and Claire pressed her hands "Thanks Liz…" she said. "We never meant to hurt you…or anybody else…" Claire looked at Bryce and then searched for Nick and Tess who all nodded in agreement.

The evening ended shortly after that with promises once again to keep in touch and inform Alex's parents about anything that happened in the future…baby and everything else.

After Liz and Bryce had left you could practically hear tons of rocks falling off Alex's and Claire's chest. "That went better than I thought…" Alex said and kissed Claire. "We ready to go home tomorrow wifey?" he said with a smirk.

Claire first punched him for the wifey comment and then said "We are…" and kissed him back.

Nick and Tess watched the scene and were both relieved that Liz had taken everything so well. They went over to their still kissing siblings and Tess said loudly "We better go now Nick, it's getting way too hot in here…"

Claire and Alex parted and they arranged where to meet the next morning so they could drive back home together…

55

The next morning Claire and Alex once again made their way out to Edna's little house. They still had to give back the supply boxes they had gotten the Sunday before and Claire wanted to say goodbye to the old lady who had been so nice to her. Nick and Tess would meet them there after checking out of their hotel.

Edna answered the door after the third knock and was clearly happy to see the young couple again. "Claire, Alex! What a nice surprise! What brings you here again?" She hugged them both and let them inside.

"We still had to bring back your boxes and we wanted to say goodbye to you…we're going home today" Claire said while taking the seat that Edna had offered her.

"Oh, thank you. It's really sad you have to go back though, I enjoyed having you come to visit me…" Edna had sat down next to Claire and petted her arm.

"I know, and although I'm not very fond of the city in general I will miss you…you were so nice to me when I was in need…"  
"You're welcome dear! It was a pleasure meeting you and that fiancé of yours according to the ring on your left hand…" She then turned around and looked at Alex who was standing behind Claire rubbing her shoulders "You're doing the right thing young man, I'm proud of you!"

Alex smiled "Actually I already did the right thing 10 years ago…" And after seeing the questioning look on Edna's face Claire added "We got married 10 years ago and never divorced…"

"Oh…that's great news! Why didn't you tell me the last time you were here? Congratulations!" Then Claire and Alex filled Edna in on the missing parts of their story and the old lady was really pleased with what she heard.

When they heard another knock on the door they knew Tess and Nick had arrived and it was time to get on the way home. Since it was already late morning they had decided to only drive halfway home and look for a place to spend the night then.

After a short introduction round they all said their goodbyes to Edna. When it was Claire's turn Edna whispered in her ear "Be careful Claire…the baby won't be long now…" Claire smiled and said "I still got two weeks to go and I've heard the first ones are never on time so…"

"Well, just promise me to be careful."

"I will…and thanks again for everything…we'll come back to visit you…with the baby"

"That would be lovely! Goodbye Claire, safe journey!"

Then the all got in the cars and drove off waving out the windows.

Later that day Claire was glad to finally lay down again. They had been driving for 8 hours and were now close to Adelaide. Although they had stopped every hour so Claire could go to the loo her back was aching terribly from sitting all day and her feet were swollen. She was thankful that they had found a nice little motel and she had a bed now to rest. Tomorrow would be another long day although they were closer to home now. She smiled at the thought of her beloved farm. The green hills, the smell of the old house, the animals…she hadn't been home for over 2 weeks now and couldn't wait to get back.

Alex entered the room with something to eat and drink for Claire. Nick, Tess and him had had dinner at the motel restaurant but Claire had just been too tired and too much in pain to sit down with them.

"Are you awake Claire?" Alex asked. "I've got something to eat for you here…"

"Thanks Alex…I'm not really hungry but leave it here…I might want to eat something later."

"Everything all right? You look tired…" He sat down on the bed behind Claire and started rubbing her back.

"Ah, that's good" Claire sighed "I'm ok I guess, just a little tired and my back is killing me…can you go a little deeper…aahh" Alex went on massaging Claire's lower back until he felt her muscles relax and heard Claire's steady, slow breathing. She had fallen asleep. So he covered Claire with a blanket and kissed her on the hair. "I love you…" he whispered and then went on to kiss her tummy. "You better hurry up there son, you're giving your mummy a bad back ache and I don't like her being in pain…" Alex smiled and sat down in the arm chair with the pregnancy book he had bought. He was almost through with it, the only chapter missing now was the one about the birth….

56

The next day Claire woke up with her back still being in pain. She hadn't had much sleep during the night because the baby had been so active and whenever she moved a little a sharp pain would go through her lower back. 'How am I gonna survive another day in the car…' she thought to herself while trying to get a more comfortable position in bed. She was glad they were only about 5 hours away from home but with her needing to use a bathroom every hour it would probably take them at least 6…

"Stop tossing and turning Claire…"Alex mumbled from the other side of the bed "I couldn't sleep all night because of that…"

"Well Ryan, you're not the only one. My back is still killing me and junior didn't wanna sleep tonight either…"

"I'm sorry Claire…is there anything I could do?" Alex turned to the side and got up on one elbow looking down on Claire.

"That massage you gave me last night was good…" Claire said and moved to the side so her back was facing Alex.

"Right…I guess I owe you one since I got you in that situation…" he said and kissed her shoulders while massaging her back again.

Later that day when they were just an hour away of Gungellan Nick heard the sound of a flattening tire.

"Tess…I think I have to pull over…one of the tires has gone flat…" he looked in the rear-view mirror and saw Alex driving close behind him. So he set the indicator and slowly pulled over to the side of the road. Alex did the same behind him.

Once they had stopped Alex jumped out of the car and asked "What's up Nick? We just had a stop for a loo break 20 minutes ago? Couldn't you go then?"

"Easy mate…we're having a flat and I need to change the tyre…which is stuck under all your stuff!"

"This is gonna take ages!" Alex was worried "I don't think Claire's very comfy in that car Nick. She has a horrible back ache since last night and it doesn't get any better by sitting the whole day. Would you mind if we just drove on and I leave you and Tess with the flat?"

"Nah, go ahead. I can manage. We'll catch up again…and if not it's not like I don't know the way…"

"Thanks Nick…I'll see ya later Tess!" Alex ran back to his car to fill Claire in on what had happened. They left Nick and Tess there and drove off waving at their siblings…

Nick and Tess unloaded Alex's boxes from the boot and were then finally able to get the spare tyre out. But after having a good look at it Nick sighed. "Tess, I'm not sure that spare tyre will get us all the way to Drovers! When did you last have a look at it?"  
"I don't know, Claire usually does that but I guess she forgot…with being pregnant and all…"

"Well, we're gonna have to stop in Gungellan and get a new one or we'll never make it home!"

Tess was not happy at all to hear this. She had wanted to stay close to Claire just in case something happened and now they probably wouldn't be able to catch up at all. She took Nick's Sat-phone and tried Alex's mobile to tell her sister what was going on but as always out here Alex didn't have a reception and wasn't reachable.

"Damn! Nick…I can't reach Alex's mobile…we should hurry up…I have a bad feeling about them driving home alone…"

"I'm doing my very best here Tess…They'll be all right and home in no time, you'll see."

Nick changed the tyre and then they drove the rest of the way to Gungellan to get a new tyre for the Merc.

2 hours later, about half way between Gungellan and Drovers Alex heard a deep moan from the passenger seat. He looked over to Claire keeping on eye on the road trying to find out what was going on.

"Your back that bad?" he asked worriedly and petted Claire's leg. She was wearing a dress again today because she had found it was more comfortable while driving.

"I don't know if it's just the back Alex, everything hurts…"

"You want me to stop so you can stretch a little?"

"Yeah, might be a good idea…just for a few minutes…we're so close to home!"

Alex pulled over and Claire got out of the car and put her hands against the frame trying to loosen up her stiff muscles. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain go all through her stomach and she felt a warm fluid run down her legs.

She groaned again. "Oh no! Not now…aaaahhh!" the pain in her stomach got worse and she could feel it hitting her in huge painful waves.

"Claire! What's wrong?" Alex shouted from the other end of the car and came running to her.

"Alex…my water just broke…the baby's coming!"

"What? Now?"

Claire rolled her eyes. "No, tomorrow…yes, now!" The contraction was over and she got up again from leaning on the car. "Can you take me home Alex? I really, really don't wanna have the baby in the car…"

"You think we'll make it back to Drovers in time?"

"I don't know but…but I'd like to try at least…aaaaaaaahhhhh!" The next contraction hit her and she grabbed Alex's arm. "Jeez…this hurts…" she pressed through her teeth. When the contraction was over again she added "Ok, we won't make it back to Drovers I guess…"

57

Alex was nearly going crazy. He didn't really know what to do with Claire…of course he had read that book last night but now that the moment was here he couldn't remember a thing he had read…

"Alex…I don't want anybody to see me like that…can we go look for a place somewhere a little more privaaaaaaaaaahhhh…" The next contraction hit and Claire grabbed Alex's arm once again.

"Claire…" Alex couldn't hide the expression of pain on his face as Claire pressed her fingers in Alex's arm. Then the contraction was over again and Alex added "I'm gonna have to give you something else to hold on to next time…Look Claire, I think there's a little empty shed somewhere not far down the road…think we can make it there?"  
"That sounds better than the side of the road…at least a little more private…"

So they got back in Alex's ute and drove about a kilometre down the road till they found the shed.

"You stay here Claire…I'll have a look inside if we can use it…" Alex said and jumped out of the car running quickly towards the run down shed. There was no real roof but it was fairly clean inside. A blanket would probably be good though…

"Claire? It'll be ok with a blanket I think…can you get out of the car again?"

"Just…wait…a…second…" Claire said with her fingers graved deep into the seat leaned forward a little. When the contraction was over she fell back into the seat and said "I want it out Alex…NOW!"

Alex felt for his wife, he knew he couldn't really help her but it hurt him to see her so much in pain.

"I know Claire…we'll get it out…together! But you'll have to help me, I don't really know what to do…"

They made their way to the shed where Claire leaned against a post while Alex spread out the blanket he had gotten from the car. Then Claire sat down with her back against the post and Alex said "I'll be right back Claire…I just have to get the book and some water, ok?"

"Ok, hurry up…"

Changing the flat tyre and getting a new one in Gungellan had taken Nick and Tess almost an hour. But now they were back on track speeding down the road to Drovers as fast as they could.

"Can't you go faster Nick? Something's wrong with Claire…I can feel it!" Tess had this anxious feeling but couldn't really tell why. She just had the feeling that it was because something with Claire wasn't right.

"Tess, if I go any faster I'll run off the road! I'm sure Claire's fine and her and Alex should almost be home by now. Why don't you call Drovers and see if they're there already?"

"Ok, where's your phone…got it!" So Tess called Drovers but nobody picked up. "Why does nobody wanna talk to me on the phone lately?" she complained which made Nick smile. "What's so funny Nick Ryan? I'm worried about my sister and you're laughing!"

"Sorry Tess…I really didn't want to…what's that?" Nick slowed down and then both him and Tess realized that that was Alex's ute parked on the side of the road.

"Nick! I knew it!"

"Tess, maybe she just needed to pee…"  
"Nick!" Tess jumped out of the car even before Nick had completely stopped and ran towards Alex's car. But it was empty so she shouted for Nick "They're not here…where are they?"

"Tess, calm down…you're no help here! Look, there's a shed…why don't we go and look there…"

That's how they found Claire and Alex. Claire sat on a blanket leaned against a post and Alex was sitting in front of her with a book in one hand and a water bottle in the other.

"Claire!" Tess shouted out and hurried over to her sister.

"Oh Tess…I'm so glad to see you!" Claire replied weakly. She was sweaty and exhausted.

"Tess…the baby's coming…" Alex said with panic in his voice.

"She guessed that Ryan…" Claire snapped at Alex. Then the next contraction started and she shouted "aaaahhhh, you're…never…touching…me…again!"

Alex looked helpless now. "I'm sorry Claire…"

When the contraction was over Tess kneeled down in front of Claire and said "Let me see how far you are…"She cleaned her hands with the water and lifted Claire's dress. "Yep, that looks pretty far along…Claire, maybe you should get into a more comfortable position…this doesn't look like that at all…You remember that kneeling-leaning one?" Claire nodded "Sounds good…Tess?"

"Yeah?"  
"I want it out…I just want it out…"

"I know Claire…won't be long now, I promise!"

After the next contraction Claire got to her knees with Tess's help and now leaned on Alex's shoulders, Tess behind her. Nick, who felt a little redundant suggested to call for help but Tess assured him that it was too late for that. "We'll have a baby any minute now…"

"Tess I need to push!"

"Then push..."

"Aaahhh….I can't do this!"

"Come on Claire…I know you can!" Alex brushed Claire's sweaty hair out of her face.

"Make…it…stop!" The contraction was over and Claire leaned against Alex.

"You can do it Claire…you're doing really well!" Tess said while rubbing Claire's back.

"There's another one coming…"

"Come on Claire…" Alex said.

"Push Claire, push!"

"Aaaahhhh, it's coming…I hate this…I hate you!" Claire looked at Alex "I hate this place…I hate everything!"

"It's ok, it's ok…" Alex looked at Tess for help but she just shook her head. Then the contraction was over and Claire once again fell against Alex.  
"I don't really hate you…" she whispered and Alex answered "Yeah, I know…I love you!"

The next contraction started and Tess told Claire to push again.

"I aaaaammm" Claire pressed through her teeth.

"Push Claire…push…hold on…don't push!"

"DON'T?" Claire turned around a little and looked at Tess as if she was nuts.

"Remember, let the contraction do it…no don't push now…"  
"But I want to!"

"Don't you dare push Claire McLeod!"

Now it was time for Alex to jump in for help. "Look at me Claire…come on…like this…" and he started to pant. With their eyes locked Claire panted with him. She could feel the baby slowly move out of her body and then finally heard a loud cry.

"It's a girl!" Tess said from the back. "It's a little girl…Alex, give me your shirt…" Since Alex had forgotten to get something from the car to wrap the baby in he now had to sacrifice his shirt.

Tess wrapped the baby in it and then sent Nick back to the car to get something to cut the umbilical cord. When they had done that she could finally hand the little girl over to her Mum. Claire was resting in Alex's arms now, both of them crying. "You're beautiful…" she told the baby and kissed her head. "Well done McLeod…"Alex said and kissed first Claire then the baby. "She's great…we did a good job there…"

"Welcome to the world little girl…" Nick said from where he was standing.

After the placenta was out too Tess tried her best to clean her and Claire and the baby up with the rest of the water. Then Alex carried mother and baby out to the car and carefully placed them inside and they all got on their way again, home to Drovers Run…


	16. Chapter 16

58

When they finally arrived at Drovers Run it was already dark and the house was lit up like a tree on Christmas. Claire had asked Alex to stop the car at the hill right above the homestead. With BOM in her arms she looked down on the house and smiled. It was good to be home, she hadn't been away from here for that long in long, long time. Not since she had left boarding school. And now she was coming back home after 2 long weeks with a husband and a new baby. Life was good…

When Nick and Tess drove up behind them and flashed the lights Alex drove on again. He could see on Claire's face how happy she was to be home and he couldn't deny that he felt the same. He couldn't wait to get up on a horse and ride over the hills of this wonderful land that he had missed so much. He knew now he would have never been happy in the city though he didn't regret that he went. He had found a new kind of self-esteem he had never known before…Alex Ryan was worth something without the social background or the money and name of his famous family. He was worth something for just being himself…and now a husband and father. He still couldn't believe everything that had happened to him in the past few days. Claire was his wife and they now had a beautiful little daughter. He looked over at them for a brief second and smiled. Life was good…

As soon as they pulled up in front of the house Claire and Alex could already see the rest of the Drovers girls running up to the car. They knew they were late due to the birth and hadn't really thought about calling so it was clear they had all been worried.

"Here comes the lot…Can you walk or do you want me to carry you upstairs?" Alex said with a concerned look on Claire and the baby.

"I'll be fine I think…maybe you could take the baby though…just to be safe." So Alex got out of the car and around to open Claire's door and take the baby from her.

"Thank God you're safe!" he heard Meg's voice behind him "We were expecting you a few hours ago!"

"Sorry Meg" he replied "We were a little busy in the meantime…"

"What you mean a little busy? I hope you didn't…" then Meg was speechless because Alex had turned around from the car with his daughter in his arms.

"Oh my God…" Jodi and Becky had walked up behind Meg and were now also looking at the little bundle still wrapped in Alex's shirt.

"May I introduce you to our little daughter BOM…she doesn't have a real name yet because her Mum doesn't like any of my suggestions but I'm sure she'll give in soon…"

"Alex! I won't name my daughter anything like Alexandra or Alexia…" Claire had slowly gotten out of the car and Nick and Tess had also left their car to join the group.

"Sorry for being late guys…Claire just couldn't wait to have the baby till she's home…" Tess now said and Claire shot her one of her famous looks.

"Come on, we should go inside…it's getting a little cold for our little one here!" Meg then said and put an arm around Claire "Are you all right?"

"I think so, yeah. Isn't she beautiful?"

"She is Claire, you did a good job. We'll call Bella in the morning so she can check you out, all right?"

Claire nodded and then they all walked into the house.

Once inside Jodi jumped right on Claire to tell her everything about what had happened while she was in the city. But Meg told her "Jodi let her breathe for a second, she just got back…they need to take care of the baby now and I'm sure Claire wants a nap then." Claire nodded "Thanks Meg…"

They took the baby up to the nursery and while Meg went down to get some water to clean mother and child properly Alex and Nick went back outside to look for the baby clothes Claire had bought in Melbourne. Tess stayed with her sister.

"Good thing we had the nursery done before you left, eh?" she said and hugged Claire.

"Thank you Tess…for everything!" Claire was close to tears again "You were always there for me and helped me through all this and I don't think I've really thanked you for it…"

"Ah, that's ok, that's what sisters are there for, right? You would have done the same had it been me, I'm sure!"

Meg came back with the water and the 3 of them gave BOM her first bath…which the little girl didn't really appreciate.

Alex and Nick had finally found the baby clothes and could already hear the baby crying when they walked in the front door.

"That girl takes after you Al…loud from the second she's born…" Nick smirked.

"Get away…you think?"

Nick laughed "Yeah. Let's hope she doesn't get your looks!"

"What's wrong with my looks?" Alex followed his brother upstairs to the nursery where Claire had just wrapped BOM in a towel. The little girl was still crying her lungs out.

"Well, you sure didn't like the bath…guess you're not taking after your aunty Tess then…"

59

When BOM was dressed and Claire had breast-fed her she was put to bed in the McLeod family crib with her parents and aunt watching her proudly. Everybody else had left when Claire had announced she was trying to breast-feed her baby now and only Tess and Alex had stayed to help Claire. Alex had felt a little weird at first but Tess had reminded him that this was just a natural thing to do and he should get over it.

Now BOM was sound asleep and happy so Alex said "Don't you want to take a nap Claire…she'll be back up in no time and I don't think she'd be happy if I tried to feed her!"

Claire smiled "No, I don't think she would…not the right equipment there…" she said and patted Alex's chest. "Will you come with me?"

"I would love to Claire but I guess I should get my things from the cars first. Don't want them to be outside all night…" he really didn't want to leave her.

"Nick, the girls and I can do that!" Tess jumped in "You stay here with Claire! We'll put everything downstairs and you can start unpacking tomorrow…"

"Thanks Tess!" Claire said and pressed Tess's hand.

"Any time sis! Any time…" Tess turned around and left the young parents with their daughter.

Downstairs she found Nick, Meg, Becky and Jodi in the kitchen having a cuppa.

"Claire will take a nap and Alex will stay with her." She announced "Is there one for me somewhere, too?"

Nick handed her a mug and Meg said "I guess he's staying the night then…"

Neither Claire and Alex nor Nick and Tess had told anybody about the marriage and Tess thought it really wasn't her thing to tell so she just said "Yup, he might stay quite often in the future…Umm, I've promised Alex we'd get his stuff our of the cars and in the house so we better get moving. It's late already and we'll all have an early start tomorrow…"

With the four of them helping it didn't take long to put all of the boxes and bags into the living room so Alex could go through them the next day. Then everybody headed to their separate homes and rooms. Before Nick drove off Tess thanked him again for his help with everything and they said goodbye with a long hug and a gentle kiss.

Up in the master bedroom Claire had changed into comfortable pj's for the night while Alex had once again stripped down to his boxers. They got under the sheets and Claire curled up in Alex's arms. She was exhausted but wanted to tell him something.

"Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"I know now what I want to name our daughter…"

"Really? Anything with Alex in it?" he said with a wink.

Claire laughed "You'll never give up, will you? No, what do you think of Charlotte?"

"Nice name…any special meaning to it?"

"It's Tess's middle name…"

"Oh, ok…" and before Alex could say anything else Claire went on "You know, I don't think I'd be here with you now if it wasn't for Tess…she's been there for me every step along the way, never asking any questions, always supporting me. I know this name probably means nothing to you but…"

"Oh Claire, can I have a word for a minute? You're worse than Tess!"

"I'm not!"

"Anyway…I really like the name and I know how much it would mean to you…and to Tess. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you when you were pregnant and I'm glad you had Tess. So, what about a middle name?"

"Prudence, after my Mum…"

"That's that then…our baby girl has a name…Charlotte Prudence Ryan!"

"Charlotte Prudence McLeod-Ryan!"

"You'll never give up, will you?" Alex smiled

"Never!" Claire smiled back and kissed Alex. She knew she'd win in the end…

60

The next morning meant settling back to normal for everybody but Claire and Alex. They still had to cope with being new parents and Alex being back again. Since both of them had spent a rather sleepless night with a newborn crying constantly the others had decided to let them sleep in. So when Alex woke up to the sound of his daughter's voice once more it was already past 9. Claire was still asleep so Alex quickly went to pick up Charlotte from her crib. They had moved it to Claire's bedroom during the night after getting up for the fifth time. This way they could pick her up without walking all the way to the nursery.

"Hello my little girl…are you awake again? Yes? Well, lets see what we can do for you…" Alex went to the nursery to change the baby's nappy but he wasn't really sure if he could manage alone. Claire had always helped him so far. "Let's see if we can get you cleaned up…" But when she wouldn't stop crying even after he had managed to change what needed changing he knew he had to wake Claire. Their daughter was hungry and he couldn't do anything about it.

Back in the bedroom Claire was already awake looking for her daughter. Since neither Alex nor the baby were there she figured that they were together somewhere. So she got up and went over to the nursery only to find Alex struggling with changing the nappy. She smiled but decided to leave them alone for the moment. Alex would have to do it on his own at one point. When he was finished and Charlotte still wouldn't stop crying she heard him say "Well, I think we're gonna have to wake your mummy, don't we?" He tickled the baby's body and picked her up. "Ssh, you'll get something to eat soon…I promise…Claire!" He had turned around and had almost run into her.

"Morning Alex…morning sunshine…" she first kissed the baby then Alex "She sounds a little cranky this morning…"

"She's hungry I would guess…" Alex handed Claire the baby and she sat down in the rocking chair to feed her.

Alex looked at the scene and was amazed once more at the sight of his wife and daughter.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked her.

"Sore!" Claire said and then smiled "Sore but happy…"

"Umm Claire...now that you're both awake we probably should call Bella to get you two checked out…she was 2 weeks early after all."

Claire nodded "Yeah, you can do that while you get me something to eat…Charlotte's not the only one starving!"

So Alex went to the study to call Bella who was surprised to hear from him and even more surprised when she heard that Claire's baby had found its way to the world already. She promised to come as soon as she could.

Then Alex went to the kitchen to get something to eat for him and Claire. He wasn't surprised that nobody was there, they were all out doing the work that needed to be done. On the kitchen table he saw a note Meg had left telling him that there was some breakfast left in the oven. He smiled and took it out but then thought 'How is that gonna be enough for both of us?'

He took what he had up to Claire's room and they had breakfast in bed together with Charlotte thankfully sleeping again.

"Alex?" Claire then asked.

"Yeah?"

"We still have to tell Meg and the girls about our marriage…"  
"I know…when do you think it would be best?"

"How about tonight…big party, we tell them the name and everything else they don't know…"

"They do know I'm the father, right?"

Claire laughed "Yes they do, I told Meg on the phone while I was in Melbourne. She wasn't surprised though so I guess they all figured that one out when I left to find you…"

Bella came just shortly before everybody else would come back in for lunch. So when they all appeared one by one they found Alex sitting on the veranda alone.

"Where's Claire?" Meg asked looking around.

"Bella's here checking on her and the baby…"

"Still no name for her?" Tess wanted to know and Alex smiled.

"We do have a name but we're not telling until tonight…"

"You really like to tease us, don't you?" Tess replied.

"I'm gonna go and get lunch ready…Becky, Jodi, would you give me a hand?"

"Listen Meg…Claire and I wanna have a little party tonight…a BBQ or something…do we have everything for that or do I need to get into town…"

Meg assured him they had everything they needed for a proper party and left to prepare lunch with the girls following her.

"When will you tell them you're married" Tess asked after everybody had left. "They've asked me all morning what's gonna happen with you two and if your boxes in the living room mean you're staying here…I hate not being able to tell them but it's really not my thing to do…"

"I know Tess, I'm sorry…we'll tell tonight…that's why we're having the party!"

Just then Claire and Bella walked out on the veranda, Bella carrying the baby. "Mother and child are healthy!" she announced and put BOM in the crib that was standing on the veranda.

"Was there any doubt about that?" Claire smiled and sat down in the chair next to the crib looking down at her child.

"Nah," Alex said. "With you and me as her parents it was clear she'd be perfect…"

"With me yeah but you?" Claire couldn't help it, she just loved teasing Alex.

"Ok, you two…I'll be back next week to see how you're doing Claire, all right?" Bella said and added "Congratulations!"

61

Later that day it was finally time for the party. The meat was already on the grill and Meg had outdone herself with making all kinds of salads. She hadn't wanted Claire to help who still looked exhausted but had gotten Alex to help her decorate the veranda a little. Now they were all waiting for the big announcement that Claire and Alex had promised.

"Come on Claire…don't you wanna tell us what you named your daughter? We've been guessing all day long…" Jodi begged. She hated it not to know what was going on.

"Patience Jodi, patience…"Alex said "Nick's not here yet so we'll wait…" Thankfully it didn't take long then Nick's ute rolled up to the house. As soon as he got out of the car Jodi shouted "Hurry up Nick! We're all waiting for you…"

As Nick walked closer he apologized "Sorry, Dad kept me busy on Killarney…"

"Sit down Nick, you want a beer?" Claire asked and when Nick nodded Alex reached down to the cooler and handed him one.

"Well," he then said "now that everybody's here…Claire and I have an announcement to make. As Claire told me you all know that I'm the father of Claire's baby…"

"Oh hurry up Alex and skip the parts we know…I wanna know the name!" Jodi's comment got a huge laugh from the whole group.

"Well, if you don't wanna hear the announcement we'll skip that and get right to the name part…" Claire said winking at Alex. BOM was resting in her arms and Alex had his arm wrapped around the two of them.

"Yes that's what we…hold on…what other announcement?" Jodi was curious now, just as well as Meg, Becky and Terry.

"Ah, so you do wanna wait till we tell you everything our way…" Alex smirked and Jodi rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, go on…"

"Ok, where was I…ah right…I'm BOM's dad…well, and you probably all know that Claire left Drovers to find me two weeks ago…but the baby was not the main reason for that…"

"It wasn't?" Jodi was really confused now.

"Jodi will you just shut up and let Alex say what he wants to say?" Meg told her daughter.

"Thanks Meg! No Jodi, the main reason why Claire left so suddenly was that she found some documents that shouldn't still have been in her possession."

"Now you got me curious Alex…what documents?" Meg asked and got a punishing look from Jodi.

"Remember those boxes I found in the attic Meg?" Claire jumped in.

"Yeah, they kept you busy for a couple days till you were gone…"

"I found an envelope in there that I had meant to send off ten years ago but forgot somehow…"

"And what was IN the stupid envelope? Jeez, there's got to be a way to tell this faster…"

"JODI!" the whole group shouted and Claire and Alex laughed. Jodi deserved a little teasing for always being so nosy.

"Well…I found some annulment papers in there…"

"Annul…you were married?" Jodi couldn't believe it.

"Well, she actually still is since the papers were never sent off…"

"But to who? I mean…you didn't date anybody back then, did you?"

Claire laughed. This was so Jodi. First being nosy and then not getting a thing. But she could see it working in Meg's mind. Meg had been the one who had taken care of her 10 years ago after her rodeo accident and she was probably the only one that could still remember who had constantly called back then.

"It's Alex Jodi…" Meg then said looking at Claire for confirmation who nodded.

"WHAT? WHEN? HOW? Nobody ever tells me anything here…" Jodi felt slightly insulted.

"It happened 10 years ago Jodi and you were just a little girl then…" Claire said to calm the young woman down. "I don't think you would have been interested back then let alone would have understood what had happened. Alex and I didn't even know we were still married, how should we have told you or anybody else. I still can't remember why I never sent the papers off…"  
"Jack's first heart attack…that happened at that time." Meg helped her out.

"Right!" Claire remembered now "I put the envelope in the box because you came running in and told me that Dad had had a heart attack. And then I just forgot about them…thanks Meg!"

She slipped out of Alex's arms to hug the woman that had always been like a mother to her "I'm sorry I never told you…I just couldn't…it was too painful" she whispered in Meg's ear.

"There's more to that story, right?" Meg asked and Claire nodded. "You wanna tell?"

"Not now…"

"Well…I guess I should say congratulations then. Let's give a toast…" Meg raised her glass "To Claire and Alex!"

"Claire and Alex!" everybody joined in and went on with giving the two their best wishes.

Then Jodi suddenly remembered something "Hey, what about the name then?"

Claire laughed "You would never forget that Jodi, would you? Ok here it goes…"she looked down at the little girl in her arms and softly said "Her name is Charlotte…" and then kissed the baby.

"Why Charlotte?" Jodi wanted to know and Tess said "It's my middle name…" She had tears in her eyes and walked over to her sister to give her a huge hug.

"Ah, that's nice!" Meg said "And what's hers?"

"Prudence, after Mum…"

"Charlotte Prudence Ryan" Alex proudly said.

"McLeod-Ryan" Claire added and everybody laughed. They all knew Claire would never give up the name McLeod.

Meg once again raised her glass and said "To Charlotte Prudence McLeod-Ryan!" and everybody joined in…


	17. Chapter 17

62

The party was long over and all the guests had gone home. Tess was already sound asleep and only Claire and Alex were still awake thanks to their daughter. Claire sat on the bed leaning against the headboard Charlotte cradled in her arms eagerly sucking on one of her Mum's breasts. Alex stood at the end of the bed watching his wife and child with a smile on his face lost in his thoughts.

"Penny for your thoughts…" Claire got him out of his gaze and Alex looked into her deep blue eyes.

"I was just thinking what a lucky man I am. Two weeks ago I was a lonely man in a big city and here I am today with a wonderful wife and a beautiful daughter…"

"I know how you feel. It's amazing, isn't it? Two weeks ago I was about to be a single Mum trying to run a property from behind a desk…I'll be so glad when I can back out and do some real work!"

"Take it easy Claire, you've got me to help you now so you don't have to do everything on your own. And besides, it looks like Tess knows what she's doing, give her a chance to prove it."

"I can't just sit here and do nothing Alex! I will go nuts!"

"I didn't tell you to do nothing, just slow down a bit. You have a daughter now who wants your attention…" this conversation wasn't going where Alex had hoped it would. "Let's stop arguing about it now. We'll just have to see how we can work everything out, all right?" he didn't want to fall asleep with them being angry at each other so he changed the subject "Tess told me earlier today she wants to move her things to the downstairs bedroom tomorrow."

"Yeah I know" Claire said and handed Charlotte to Alex. "Have you thought about getting the rest of your stuff from Killarney over here?" They had talked about it but Alex had never really answered her about what he intended to do. He hadn't spoken to Harry ever since the day he found out Harry was not his father and the disaster with the money sure hadn't helped their relationship.  
Alex just grumbled when Claire mentioned Killarney.

"You gotta talk to him at one point, Alex…he's still your Dad!"

"I don't know if he still is Claire…I've been away for so long…"

"There's only one way to find out, you know? Talk to him!"

"I never thought Claire McLeod would be the talking kind of woman…" Alex teased her.

"You know, with Tess living here I've found out that sometimes talk DOES actually help…" Claire got up from the bed and helped Alex put Charlotte to bed. They had decided to leave her crib in their bedroom for now till everything had settled down.

"She's perfect, isn't she?" Alex said and Claire could hear the love in his voice. She smiled.

"You know, I always knew you were nothing but a huge softie underneath your hard shell…" Claire said and kissed Alex. "I love you"

"I love you too Claire and I still can't believe we're married!" He pulled her closer and placed another kiss on her lips.

"Oh, that reminds me of something…" Claire slipped out of Alex's arms and went over to her dressing table and opened one of the drawers. "Where is it? I knew I had it somewhere in here…ah, there it is!" she said and turned around with a little blue paper box in her hand. She had a huge smile on her face.

"What's that?" Alex wanted to know.

"Come and have a look!" Claire told him and carefully opened the box. When Alex looked inside he saw a simple golden ring…the wedding band he had given Claire 10 years ago.

"You still have that?" He was surprised. After all she had wanted the annulment.

"I couldn't give it away…you wanna put it back where it belongs?" she asked and raised her head to look in his eyes.

"Oh yeah!" was Alex answer as he took the ring from the box and put it on Claire's left ring finger where his engagement ring was.

"This feels so good Alex…" Claire was close to tears now. Having her wedding ring back on her finger felt so right. "At least one of us is truly married now…" she laughed away the tears in her eyes.

"Mine is over at Killarney in my old room…" Alex said kissing Claire's hand. "I think I really need to go there soon…" he moved his lips from her hand to her neck and on to her lips. Then he took her in his arms. They stood there for several minutes just holding each other tight till Claire said "We should try and sleep a bit Alex, it won't be long and BOM's awake again…"

So they slipped into bed and Claire curled up in Alex's arms. She took one more look at the rings on her left hand and faded to sleep with a smile…

63

The next day was moving day for both Alex and Tess. They had cleared the downstairs bedroom the day before so Tess could move her things in there and Alex had started to unpack the boxes he had brought from Melbourne. When Tess's furniture was all out of her old room an inside the new room with Nick's and Alex's help her and Claire began to move everything else. Alex decided that the ladies were able to do that on their own and made the decision to drive over to Killarney and get his things from there. He knew he'd probably have to face Harry but as strange as it seemed he had somehow missed him. Claire had been right, Harry was his Dad. And even though he'd not been the best Dad in the world he was still the one that brought him up. And with the distance of 8 months Alex felt strong enough to face him again.

"Claire? I'll be over at Killarney to get my things from there…" he told his wife.

"Oh, ok…you want me to come with you?" Claire knew he was unsure about meeting Harry again.

"No, I'll be fine I think…" he leaned down to kiss her.

"Will you talk to him?"

Alex knew Claire was referring to Harry. "Not about our marriage…I have to know where we stand first."

"Ok…think we should do that together anyway. Just remember to stay calm, ok?"

They both hadn't talked to Harry since Alex had left, all matters with Killarney had gone over Nick. But Nick had never really told much personal things about Harry so neither Claire nor Alex knew how the old man would react.

Driving over to the place where he grew up Alex thought about whether the place had changed in any way. Since Liz had left it was only Harry and his staff living there now as far as he knew. Nick had told him that his old room had stayed untouched but since his brother was living and working on Wilgul he didn't know much about what was going on at Killarney either.

'Well, this still looks the same…' Alex thought when he pulled up in front of the house. Harry's car wasn't there so he was probably out somewhere. Alex was relieved. If Harry stayed out a bit longer he would be able to get most of his things packed without having to face him.

Alex took the first load of empty boxes he had brought with him and entered the house of his childhood. He took a deep breathe. The house smelled the same and the feeling of being home finally got him. Even though this place had never been as relaxed and comfy as Drovers Run it was still his home.

Still lost in his thoughts about his childhood and youth here Alex made his way up the stairs to his old room. He didn't really pay attention to where he was going not expecting anyone to be there so he almost fell down the stairs when someone ran into him.

He let the empty boxes slip to the floor and grabbed the handrail to steady himself. He heard a groan from the person he had run into and looked up.

"Sandra!"

"Bloody hell Alex, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I could ask you the same…this is my home after all!" Alex picked the boxes up again he had dropped down.

"Well, this is my home now, too!" Sandra said provokingly and Alex stopped in his actions.

"WHAT?" he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Killarney? Sandra's home? What the hell was going on here?  
"Harry's asked me to move in here last week…"  
"You and Dad?" Alex had to sit down. That was too much for him. Before his life had fallen apart he had flirted with Sandra quite heavily and he didn't wanna think about her being together with Harry now.

"You went away Alex. There've been quite a few changes since then…"

"Sure looks like it…Listen, I'll just get up to my old room and pack my things together…"

"Right, go ahead, you know the way. Harry should be home in about half an hour. I'm sure he wants to talk to you…"

Sandra walked past Alex heading downstairs while Alex finally gathered the empty boxes together and went to his room, still shaking his head over the news of Sandra and Harry. Did Nick know about this? Probably not, he would have told him for sure if he had…

Alex opened the door to his bedroom and took a look around. Nick had been right. Nothing had been changed in here, it was like he never left. The first thing he wanted to do was look for his wedding ring. Like Claire he had kept it, not being able to let go of what had happened. He had hidden it in a small wooden box under one of his floorboards along with the photos they had taken back then and the marriage-certificate. He wanted to get that out of the house before Harry got home and asked questions about it.

Alex found the box and couldn't stop himself from looking inside. On top of everything was the picture of him in his best suit and Claire in the most wonderful dress he had ever seen her in. He ran his fingers over the picture and closed the box again. There was enough time for looking at the rest of the things in there when he was back on Drovers.

Alex placed the wooden box on his bed and started filling up the paper boxes with the things he wanted to take with him. Just as he placed the first set of boxes in his car Harry pulled up in his ute. Alex quickly hid the small wooden box in the glove box and turned to his father's car.

"Harry…" he said and went over to him to shake his hand.

"Alex…" Harry said and took Alex's hand. "Nick told me you were back…" there was an uncomfortable silence after that.

Alex had figured his brother would do that. He wasn't sure how much Nick had told Harry but he was sure he hadn't said anything about the marriage.

"I…umm…I'm just here to get my things…" Alex broke the silence not really knowing what to say next.

"Thought so, Nick said you're staying at Drovers now."

"Did he also tell you about Claire and the baby?"

"Yes…umm…congratulations Alex…"

"Thanks." Silence again. Then Harry motioned to the house with his head and Alex nodded. They walked inside without a word and sat down in the living room.

"Harry, you're home!" When Sandra walked over to Harry and kissed him Alex could clearly see that he felt very uncomfortable. He looked at Alex and then turned to Sandra.

"Sandra, Alex and I need to talk…alone!"

Sandra moved away from him with a not very happy expression on her face. This was her territory now and she didn't wanna give that up. But after a look in Harry's face she knew this was not the time to prove anything and left.

The room was filled with silence again, neither of the two men wanted to make the first move. Finally Harry asked. "Where've you been?"

"Melbourne…" was Alex's short answer.

"Did you meet him?" Harry was referring to Bryce.

"Yes, I did…"  
"Was he the reason you stayed there so long?"

"Listen Harry…I know it's not easy for you because this is just as hard as it is for me. Yes, I've met Bryce in Melbourne, quite frequently. But he was not the reason I stayed there. I…I had to find out who I was…plus I couldn't find a job here thanks to you so what should I have done?" Alex hadn't wanted to bring that topic up but he couldn't help it.

Harry looked embarrassed much to Alex's surprise.

"I know…it was a mistake Alex, sorry…"  
Harry Ryan was apologizing? That was something new!

"It's ok. I think I needed it to get to know who I really am…"

"You know Alex, I've tried to cross you out of my head as my son but I couldn't…"  
"I know Dad…even though you've been a lousy father at times you're still my Dad, I know that now…"

After their revelations to each other silence filled the room again till Harry got up and asked Alex "You need a hand to pack?" They both knew there were still some things that needed to be cleared but for now everything important was solved.

"Nah, I think I can manage…" Alex said with a smirk and got back to his room…

64

"WHAT?"

Alex was back on Drovers with the first load of his things and had just told Claire about Sandra living on Killarney.

"Harry and Sandra? I didn't even know they…you know…Sandra?" Claire looked at him questioning.

"I take it you didn't know about it then…"

"No! I didn't have a clue! I don't think anybody did!"

"I can understand why Harry wants her but what the heck does she see in him? He's…OLD!"

"All Sandra wants it money and power Alex, it's always been like that…"

"Claire!"

"It's true!"

Tess walked into the room and asked "What's wrong?"

"Alex ran into Sandra at Killarney!"

"What about it?" Tess was confused "Probably making business with Harry…"

"See, even Tess doesn't know!"

"Know what?"

"Sandra's living at Killarney now!" Claire still wasn't over the news.

"WHAT?" Tess was just as shocked as Claire.

They went on unpacking Alex's things to get more free boxes so he could get the rest of his stuff moved.  
When Nick walked in a couple minutes later the other three jumped on him if he knew anything about Harry and Sandra. He had had the closest connection to Killarney in all those months, if he didn't know they were sure nobody knew.

Nick was as surprised as the others when he heard about Sandra and Harry. He was also probably the most hurt that his father hadn't told him. After all the work he'd put into Killarney while Alex was away he thought that Harry could at least have told him! He was really mad at Harry now…

A few minutes later the phone rang and Alex jumped up to get it. Charlotte was sleeping and they were all enjoying the moments of peace for a change. The little girl sure knew how to run everybody in the house off their feet.

When he came back he had the speaker covered with one hand and whispered to Claire "Harry asks if you would mind to bring the baby over later when we get the rest of my things…"

Claire rolled her eyes and sighed "Do we have to?"

"We'll have to get it over with at one point, too many people know by now. Why not now?"

"She's only 2 days old Alex…"  
"I know, he can't kill us when we have her with us." Alex smirked.

Claire sighed again. She knew Alex was right. "Ok, ok, but I'm not giving any guarantee she'll behave"

Alex smiled and left the room again to tell Harry they'd be coming over later.

2 hours later Claire and Alex pulled up at Killarney with Charlotte and a couple of empty boxes in the backseat. They had taken the Merc since Alex's car didn't have a backseat for Charlotte's car seat. They hoped they could get Alex's remaining things in here.

"Ready?" Alex asked Claire. She nodded and got out of the car. Claire had breastfed her daughter just before they had left so she hoped the little girl would be asleep for a while now.

Harry had heard the car pull up and was now walking through the front door.

"Claire! So good to see you! How are you?"

Harry had reached her now and Claire took the hand he offered her while Alex was getting BOM.

"I'm fine Harry, thanks for asking. A little tired but I guess that's normal…"

"And this is my granddaughter?" Harry then turned to Alex who was carrying Charlotte in her seat.

"Sshh Dad, she just fell asleep. We should go inside so you can have a proper look, ok?" Alex said and walked inside the house.

Sandra was waiting for them inside. She looked like she didn't feel very comfortable.

"Alex, Claire…" she greeted them and while Alex only nodded Claire managed to press a "Sandra…" through her teeth.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Sandra asked trying to be a good hostess and left after Claire and Alex had told her what they wanted.

There was certainly a lot of tension in the room but Harry didn't realize it. He was looking at Charlotte lost in his thoughts.

"She's beautiful Claire…" he said.

"Thanks Harry."

"Only telling the truth. So, when are you two going to get married and make this all legal?" Harry looked up at Claire and Alex.

"Dad…" Alex started "there's something we need to tell you…"  
"Alex! Don't tell me you've decided to have one of those modern relationships where you decide to be together but don't want to marry. You've got to think of our reputation!"

"Calm down Dad, that's not what we were going to tell you. Let me finish, ok?" Harry only waved Alex off.

"It is true that Claire and I won't get married but…well, there is a reason to that…Dad, Claire and I are already married!" Alex had said that and then ducked his head expecting his father to explode at the news.

But unlike Liz, Harry stayed amazingly calm. Alex could see it boiling inside of him but also saw that Harry was doing his best to keep his emotions under control.

"Well, this is sure a surprise…" he finally said "When? Why didn't we all get invited?"

"Nobody was invited Harry…it happened 10 years ago…" Claire said.

"10 years ago? Why?"

So Alex and Claire told Harry the story of what had happened back then. Halfway through Sandra had come back and was now standing in the door totally shocked. Claire and Alex? Married?

After Harry and Sandra knew the basics of the circumstances Claire and Alex had gotten married in and about the annulment that had never taken place Harry got up and said "Sandra, get us champagne! This is great news! Finally Killarney and Drovers Run will become one!"

No need to say neither Claire nor Alex were happy about Harry's comment but since they both hadn't really talked about what would happen next they just kept it at that and were thankful Harry didn't make a scene like Liz had done…

65

"I'm sorry Claire…you know…for Dad's comment about uniting the properties. I should have said something…" Claire and Alex were on their way back to Drovers, the Merc filled with boxes containing the rest of Alex's belongings. His old room was completely empty now except for the furniture.

"It's ok Alex, I could have said something myself but I thought it was better to keep the peace for now. I'm just glad he didn't freak out like your mother did!" Claire turned around in her seat to take a look at BOM who was once again sound asleep in her car seat. Claire smiled.  
"Think she likes driving, she fell asleep the minute we drove off…"

"It might also be the fact that you just fed her and changed her nappy…" Alex teased Claire.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm glad she's asleep…?"

Alex got serious now "Claire?"

"Yeah?"

"You know…we haven't actually talked about what we're going to do now…I mean work wise. We have Charlotte now and I don't have a job right now…I know you probably don't wanna stop working but…maybe we should split your chores between us till Charlotte's a bit better to handle?" He took a quick look at Claire to see her reaction.

"Alex…" Claire said "I don't think it'll work that way…maybe you could ask Harry if you could come back to Killarney…"  
"I'm not sure I want to work there when Sandra's always around…"

"And what about our training business? I had to give that up when you left but I'd really like to get it back up and running…and you'll get over Sandra!"

"Come on Claire, you wouldn't work together with her for a single minute…"

Claire laughed. Alex was right, she'd kill herself rather than working with Sandra Kinsella!

"Just talk to Harry, ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, I will…about the horse training…once I've sold my apartment I'll have some money we could put into that…"

Claire smiled. "Shall we make it a deal then? You ask Harry if he needs you and once you've got your money we try and start reviving that business of ours…after all we still have a contract!"

Alex agreed and was glad he had something to look forward to. Right now he was happy with playing Dad for a little while till he found the courage to ask Harry for a job. If only Claire would take some time off as well but he'd bet once this week was over and Claire had fully recovered from the birth she'd be back out doing her work again.

Back on Drovers Charlotte was put straight to bed by her parents while Tess, Jodi and Becky unloaded the Merc. Meg was in the kitchen preparing dinner.

"Alex? Where do we put all this stuff? It won't all fit in the master bedroom, that's for sure!" Tess asked as she entered the nursery.

"Sshh Tess, she's just fallen asleep again and I'd like to keep it that way!" Claire whispered.

"Just put them in your old room, I will unpack them tomorrow…" Alex said and Claire nodded in agreement.

So the girls put all the boxes with Alex's things in Tess's former bedroom and just when they were finished Meg called them all to dinner.

While eating Claire and Alex had to tell everybody what had happened at Killarney and how Harry had reacted to the news about their marriage. They also filled them in on the fact that Sandra was now living on Killarney. Like earlier today that news left a lot of people really surprised. They all wondered if there would be a wedding on Killarney soon.

Then Tess started to talk about how unfair it was that she was never invited to her sister's wedding.

"You know, it's not fair what you did 10 years ago…you could have at least had a party for everyone!"

"That was our original plan Tess but you know how that ended…and besides you wouldn't have been invited then anyway…remember, I hadn't seen you in over 10 years!"

"I know Claire but I still would have liked to see you in a wedding dress…"

"Oh, I can help you with that…" Alex said and got up. He left the dining room and came back a few minutes later with the wooden box that had been in the glove box the whole day. He opened the box and handed the picture of Claire and him on their wedding day to Tess.

"You still have that?" Claire was really surprised. "I thought you would have burned it after I made you sign the papers…"

"I couldn't Claire, I just couldn't" Alex said and their eyes locked when he took Claire's hand.

"That's a nice dress Claire but still not a real wedding dress…" Tess said looking up from the picture in her hand. She passed it on so Meg, Jodi and Becky could see it, too.

"It's a dress Tess, what more do you want?"

"I just wish I could have been at my sister's wedding…now you're married and nobody had fun!"

"I'm sorry Tess but I can't change that now…and to be honest I don't want to change it. I'm glad Alex and I are still married, it makes so many things so much easier…"

Suddenly Jodi had an idea "Why don't you guys remarry? I mean, renew your vows or something. After all you haven't really been together all those years…"  
"You know what Jodi, that is a great idea!" Tess said and had a huge smile on her face.

"Oh no no no no!" Claire said, "I'm not doing that! I'm glad we had a small wedding then and I don't want another one…"

"Oh come on Claire! If you don't wanna do it for yourself do it for me…for all of us here! We would really like to see you walk down that aisle, right girls?"

As everybody around them including Alex nodded, Claire punched him "Hey, you're supposed to be on my side here, Ryan!"

"Come on Claire, I'd love to see you walk down that aisle again…this time with our family and friends present!"

"But I hate things like that!"

"Claire…" Tess took her sister's hand. "You can have the wedding you want to have…simple and only family and friends but please, PLEASE do it! For me?" She looked at Claire like a puppy which made Claire laugh.

"Ok, ok, but you have to organize everything! I have enough to do with BOM and work! You wanted it, you take care of it!" she said and got up, accidentally throwing Alex's wooden box to the floor. The wedding ring fell out and rolled over the floor till it stopped at Claire's left foot. She picked it up and smiled at Alex. "Shall I put it back where it belongs?" she said and the smile on her face got even broader.  
"Go right ahead McLeod…" Alex said and offered Claire his left hand.

Claire slipped the simple golden ring on Alex's ring finger and kissed his hand like he had done with hers. Their gazes locked and they became completely oblivious of the world around them. Alex pulled Claire in for a long kiss and whispered "I love you Claire!" against her lips.  
"I love you two Alex!" Claire replied.

Then the cheering and whistling and loud clapping brought them back to reality.

They all sat back down and started talking about what needed to be done for the wedding and how long it would take. They argued about the date till Claire said that if she had to go through with this she at least wanted to look good on her wedding day so they finally agreed on a date 10 weeks later…


	18. Chapter 18

66

After Claire had agreed to renew her vow with Alex life on Drovers started to settle down. Alex had convinced Claire to take it slow for the rest of the week and only do the bookwork. At first Claire had wanted to get on a horse and out onto the land right away but had then realized she was still a little too sore to get in the saddle. So she had let Alex win on that one and was now sitting over the books in the study while Alex was out with the girls doing her work. He hadn't talked to Harry yet about working on Killarney again so he was glad he could help out on Drovers and not feel so useless.

Claire sighed. Now that she had Alex back and he actually had a bit of money she couldn't wait to get their horse training business back up. She knew Alex still had to sell his apartment in Melbourne to actually get the money but it had been so hard to give up her dream when he left. And now she could have it back…with Alex on her side.

Charlotte started making sounds in her crib that Claire had placed in the study so she wouldn't have to go too far when her daughter needed her.

Claire looked on her watch and smiled. "We're getting hungry aren't we?" she said to the baby "Yes? Well, let's get you fed then…" She picked BOM up who had started crying and got herself ready to feed her. It was amazing how things had changed since the arrival of her child but Claire was also scared. Scared if she'd be a good mother, if she could manage having a baby and working her farm. Right now she was doing fine but all she did was care for Charlotte and do an hour or two of bookwork. Sometimes Claire just wanted her life to get back to normal.

When Charlotte was nestled in her mother's arms eagerly drinking Claire heard a knock on the door and someone clearing his throat. She looked up and saw Harry standing in the doorway.

"Harry! What a surprise! Come in!" she said.

"Err; I don't know Claire, it looks like you're busy…I can come back another time if you want, I didn't want to disturb you…"

"It's ok Harry, I'm fine and Charlotte is too so come on in and have a seat…"  
"Ok, thanks…" Harry still didn't feel very comfortable being in the room when Claire was breastfeeding the baby.

"So…what brings you here Harry? I'm sure it's not only to see the little one, is it?"

"Umm, no, but that's been the second reason I came…I was actually hoping to find Alex somewhere around…"  
"Ah, sorry, you missed him…he just went out to fix the boundary fence with Tess and Jodi…we had some sheep break into the national park last night…I can tell him what you wanted if you like. Don't think they'll be back any time soon…"

"Well, maybe it's a good idea to ask you what you think about it…"

"If you're talking about joining the properties again…forget it Harry! We've talked about that a hundred times and I'm not changing my mind…"  
"That's not what I came for…although I still think it would be a good idea! No, I came to ask Alex if he'd like to have his old job back on Killarney…I know he's helping you here right now but with Nick having Wilgul to care about I really need someone to look after the place…I'm not getting any younger…"  
"What about Sandra?" Claire knew Sandra wouldn't be happy about Alex working there.

"She'll understand, she's got her own property to worry about…and Alex is family despite everything that happened…"

Claire doubted that Sandra would understand it if Alex came back to Killarney. Not the way she had acted when they were there the other day…like Killarney was all hers and Harry was just a nice addition.

But for the sake of keeping the peace she only said "You've got to ask Alex yourself Harry…I really can't speak for him…"

Charlotte was now finished with drinking and Claire handed her to Harry. "Will you hold her for a second while I get dressed properly again? But take the napkin over there in case…you know…"  
Harry looked a little surprised not really knowing what to do but when Charlotte looked at him with her huge blue eyes he smiled. This was his first grandchild…even if she was not blood related.

"Hello beautiful…you're a good girl, aren't you? Treating your parents all right? Yeah?"

Claire smiled at the sight of Harry with the baby. Who would have thought…Harry Ryan had a soft side!

"Thank you Harry, I can take her back now…"

"Would you mind if I held her a little longer?"

Claire was surprised "No, if you don't mind being spit at…she can't seem to keep her milk inside…"

"Ah, just like Alex when he was a baby. He'd always ruin the new shirt you just put on…you do take after your Dad, huh?" He smiled down on the little girl who still seemed to be fascinated by Harry's voice.

"You can sit down on the veranda with her if you want and wait for Alex to come back…but it'll honestly be a while. You want a cuppa?"

Harry declined but went outside all the while talking to the baby. Claire shook her head and went back to do the rest of the bookwork. She would have never thought to see Harry Ryan have the soft touch for another human being but her daughter had him wrapped around her little finger.

A little while later Harry brought a sleeping Charlotte back and told Claire he had to leave now.

"Sandra's waiting for me. Would you tell Alex to come round tomorrow so we can talk about my offer?"

"I can send him tonight if you want."  
"No, I won't be home…Sandra wants to go out tonight…"

Claire frowned "Oh, ok…well, then I'll send him over first thing tomorrow morning. Is that ok?"  
"Fine, thanks Claire. And thanks for letting me have some time with Charlotte…"  
"No worries, you can come back any time you want!" Claire said and added in her thoughts 'Just please don't bring Sandra with ya!'

Later that day after they had all had dinner together Claire and Alex sat on the veranda, Claire cuddled up to Alex. They hadn't had time yet to talk about what had happened today so Alex didn't know about Harry's visit yet.

"Ah, this is good…sitting out here with a beer after a long day of hard body work…with you in my arms! What more could a man wish for?" Alex lowered his head and kissed Claire gently.

"I don't know…but I like being our here with you!" Claire smiled at him but then her face turned serious as she remembered Harry. "Oh Alex, Harry was here today…"

"Claire, I really don't wanna talk about my father right now…"

"No Alex, listen to me…he was here to ask you if you want your old job back…"

"He was? Wow, would have never thought he'd do that…"  
"He wants to see you tomorrow so I promised to send you over in the morning."  
"Pushing me around Claire, are we?" Alex said with a wink "You think I should take the job? I would be over there most of the day…"

"I know, that's the only down part of that…but I think it would be a good idea, we could really use the extra money…plus Harry sounded pretty desperate…think he's tired of having to do everything himself!"

"What about Sandra? I don't think I can work there with her dancing around me all the time…"  
"Harry promised she'd understand…"  
"You really think that McLeod?" Alex touched Claire's forehead "You been out in the sun too much or what?"  
"Oh come on Alex, you're Harry's son, Sandra is only his girlfriend…and who knows for how much longer! You'll survive! Show her who's boss! You are a man, aren't ya?"

"Get away Claire! You know what I mean…"

They finally came to the agreement that Alex would take the job on Killarney…under a few conditions. One of them being proper payment and another Sandra not interfering…

67

The next morning Alex made his way to Killarney right after breakfast. Claire had insured him again that it was a good thing to do although he wasn't completely convinced. Alex just couldn't forget the way Harry had treated him after finding out he was not his father. They hadn't really talked about what had happened and their relationship was just getting back to normal…as normal as a relationship with Harry Ryan would ever be! Alex was only back for barely a week and didn't want to ruin his last chance of having a normal life with his Dad. Because that's what Harry Ryan still was to him…

Pulling up in front of the house Alex remained in the car for a few minutes to gather his strength. He hope that he wouldn't run into Sandra before he could talk to his father, he just couldn't stand her today…not that it was any different on any other day.

Walking through the house a couple minutes later Alex was relieved that his father's new girlfriend was nowhere to be seen.

"Harry?" he shouted and made his way to the study. "Dad, you there?"  
"Ah, Alex…come here and sit down. Have you had breakfast yet? I could Rhonda have fix something up for you…"  
"Nah, thanks Dad, they feed me well at Drovers…"

"You like living there?"  
"It has it good sides and its bad sides." Was Alex's answer. One of the good sides was definitely having Claire and their daughter, one of the bad sides that he had to pick up after himself. "Talking about the good side…Claire said you wanted to see me?"

"Umm, yes…I wanted to ask you if you would like to have your old job back?"

"Yeah, Claire said so. Why do you want me back Harry?"

"What do you mean? You're my son…even after everything that happened…and you need a job."

"You don't want me back to get a cheap worker, do you? Because that's not going to work this time!"

"Of course not! You belong here Alex, this is your home. You've been away for so long, it's time you work this place again."  
"What about Nick? It's his place now rather than mine…"  
"Don't be stupid Alex, Nick has Wilgul, he's got enough to do with that. Killarney was always meant for you…"  
Alex rolled his eyes…the old story about Nick not getting Killarney. He had thought that Harry might have changed his mind about that after the truth about the fatherhood came out but it sure didn't seem like it.

"Dad, if I come back I have a few conditions…" Alex said carefully. He wasn't sure how his father would take that.  
"I'm willing to listen to anything reasonable, son." Harry said. If he was upset about Alex's comment he didn't show.

"All right, here goes: First of all…if I work here I want enough time to still be at Drovers and help Claire with the horse training. We want to build that back up and she can't do it all on her own now that we have Charlotte."

"I can understand that, we'll work out how much time you need to spend here and how much the training will consume. What else?"

"Second: I want to get paid properly."  
"Alex, you know why…"

"Let me finish Harry, ok? I know you only meant the best when you handled things like you did back then. But that just don't work for me anymore. I have a family now that I need to support and I don't wanna depend on my father's money to do so. I've earned my own money over the last 9 months and I was able to handle everything on my own. Once you die you can give me all the money you want but right now I wanna be independent. I hope you understand that."

Harry looked surprised. He wasn't used to Alex talking like that. When it came to money he had never complained with the way things were, he had always had enough of it even though he never got paid for his work.

"How are you gonna keep your horse business alive without money?"

"We will Dad, we will. Once I've sold my apartment in Melbourne I have some money. And I know Claire and I will be successful, we had already started to be before I left. People round here know how good a trainer Claire is so once we get back out there and get the business on track it should be able to maintain itself. Believe me, Claire and I talked about this and we both see it that way."  
"Well, if you think you really manage without my help I won't keep ya. But we'll have to work out a contract for you if you wanna get paid!"

"Fine by me, a contract sounds good." Alex knew that if he had a contract Harry could never do again what he did 9 months ago and cut him off completely. He was glad he had his Dad back but still couldn't forgive him on that one.

"Any more conditions?" Harry asked a little annoyed now.

Alex looked at him again and sighed. He had to ask about Sandra.

"One more…I know things have changed around here while I was gone but…I really don't think I could work for or even with Sandra, Dad. She would drive me nuts and so would Claire because she'd go on and talk about Sandra all the time. So if Sandra's part of the deal I'm sorry but then I just can't work here."

Harry was clearly upset now but tried to hide it for the sake of keeping the peace. He really wanted Alex back on Killarney. It was his way of making sure his son wouldn't just leave again. And if that meant keeping Sandra away from him…it had to be.

"She won't like that Alex…" he tried but already knew Alex wouldn't go for it.

"To be honest Dad, I really don't care what Sandra likes or not…I understand she's your girlfriend now though I can't really understand why but please don't expect me to see her as my boss or anything! I've worked this place all my life and I know how things work here. I don't need anybody telling me what to do, especially not Sandra Kinsella…"

Harry sighed. Sandra would have to live with that. He wanted his son back, that was more important than anything else. He had lost him 9 months ago he didn't wanna lose him again.

"Ok, I'll talk to her and I promise she won't be in your way, Alex! Deal?" Harry offered his hand to his son and after some hesitation Alex took it.

"Deal!"

68

The next couple of weeks life on Drovers revolved around the planning of Claire's and Alex's wedding. Of course the regular work needed to be done as well but everything seemed to be finished quicker now because there was always something to plan or discuss.

Claire had started working again after 9 days of rest but still found it difficult to cope with life as a working mother. She felt she wasn't doing anything right. When she was with Charlotte she wanted to go out and help the others, when she was out riding a fence or mustering some cattle she wanted nothing more than to be with her daughter.   
The lack of sleep she got at night made her cranky and that only made the whole situation worse. Alex helped as much as he could but he couldn't breastfeed Charlotte so most of the times he got up to look after the baby Claire had to be up sooner or later anyway. She got little to no sleep at all at night and during the day she tried to do all the chores she had done before she had gotten pregnant. The difference now was she had to get back ever so often to feed Charlotte and didn't get anything done in her opinion.

Claire sat at the kitchen table feeding Charlotte all the while looking at her watch when Meg walked in. She saw how much Claire was in a hurry so she couldn't help but say "Claire, you've got to give her time! If you take your time feeding her she won't need you that often…"  
"I have to get back to work Meg or I won't get anything done today…"

"Claire, you should really slow down a bit, you're a mother now, your daughter needs you! But…I have something for you which might help make things a little easier…" Meg turned around and got a box out of one of the kitchen cupboards and handed it to Claire.

"What's this?" Claire looked confused on the thing inside the box.

"It's a breast pump, I bought it just in case…" Meg smiled proud of herself.

"I'm not a dairy cow Meg…other women can do it I will be fine, too. Thanks for the concern…" Claire got up and left Meg in the kitchen shaking her head. Claire would come back…

For Claire the rest of the day turned into a complete chaos. Shortly after she had left Meg in the kitchen she had wanted to clean up Charlotte but the water wasn't running. Jodi had hurt her hand badly trying to fix the broken pipe and Meg had taken her to the hospital. Alex was working on Killarney and Tess and Becky were out on the other end of the property moving some sheep to another paddock. That left Claire alone in the house with no running water, a crying baby and no clean nappy to change her.

Claire was nearly out of her mind. Everything was out of hand and there was nothing she could do about it. She liked to have things under control but with Charlotte around there was no control at all!

Claire ended up cutting an old bed sheet into pieces so she could change BOM, then took the crying baby with her to try and fix the broken pipe. If only she had a way to contact Becky and Tess! Nobody would be back for hours! Amazingly enough Charlotte decided to calm down and take a nap so her mother could get the work done.

After she had finished the pipe Claire was covered in dirt but since the tank had run empty she still didn't have water to clean herself up. Charlotte was awake again crying her lungs out to be fed but Claire didn't dare to touch her with all the dirt.

"I'm sorry BOM…I'm dirty and I don't want you to get ill…calm down honey, not long and we'll have some water again…the tank just needs to fill up a little…" Claire felt so helpless with her daughter crying that she started to cry, too. Trying to calm down her daughter she sat down in the kitchen and kept rocking Charlotte's stroller. The little girl calmed down a little and Claire rested her head on the kitchen table still sobbing.

"I can't do this…" she kept muttering over and over again.

That as how Meg found them a good 30 minutes later. Claire's head on the table, her body shaken by sobs, Charlotte in her stroller, with a red heated head from crying.

"Claire! Everything all right? What happened?"

"I can't do this Meg…I just can't do it…" Claire muttered "I fixed the pipe but got all dirty…the tank was empty so I couldn't get myself clean and BOM was crying all the time…I just don't know what to do…I…I…" Claire broke down into sobs again.

"Oh Claire…everything will be all right…" Meg tried the tap to see if the water was back "See we got running water again…why don't you clean yourself up and take a nap…you look exhausted!"

"But I need to feed her…" Claire looked at Charlotte. "I'm not a mother Meg…look what I've done to her today…"  
"Claire, you are a great mother!"  
"But I don't do anything, I don't know what she wants and she can't even seem to keep my milk down!"

"You do more than you think Claire…now go and get yourself cleaned, I'll bring Charlotte up so you can feed her and then you'll take a nap, ok?"

Claire nodded and left the kitchen with one last look on her daughter while Meg tried to calm down the little girl till her mother was finished.

10 minutes later Claire was clean and had changed into new clothes. She was leaning against the headboard of her bed finally feeding Charlotte.

"I'm sorry sweetheart…I'm not the best mother I know but I'll try my best, I promise…" She stroked her daughters head and sighed. "What a mess…"

"Everything all right?" Meg poked her head through the bedroom door.

"Yeah, thanks Meg...umm, about that breast pump…can you show me how to use it?"

Meg smiled. She had known Claire would come around "Sure Claire, we can do that later…right now I think both of you should take a nap. I've called that husband of yours and told him to get his butt round here, shouldn't be long. He can take care of Charlotte while you get some sleep and I try and clean the up the mess."

Outside they could hear Alex's ute pulling up and it didn't take him long to storm in the bedroom.

"Claire! Are you all right? Charlotte?" He sat down on the bed next to her.

Claire looked at Meg questioning but the older woman only shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "I may have exaggerated a bit when I told him to come home…" she said and left the young parents alone.

"I'm fine Alex, it was just a bad day I guess…I'm glad you're here now though."

Alex cupped her face and petted her cheek with his thumb. "Why didn't you call me? I'm only over at Killarney and I'm sure Dad understands it if you need me…"

"I know Alex, I'm sorry, I thought I could handle it on my own like I always have…"

"But you're not alone anymore Claire, you got a daughter to look for. Don't you think it's time somebody else took a little more responsibility? Let Tess do her share, she knows what she's doing by now and Becky's one of the best and hardest workers I've ever seen. You don't need to do every little thing yourself…" Alex didn't know what else to say. Only Claire herself could let the others help her.

Claire smiled at her husband and leaned forward to kiss him. "Thanks Alex, for being here…for everything…I guess I gotta let go of the thought of having a nice, structured life with this little one here…"

"Nah, it'll just be a little different. Let the us take a little of your burden away from you and you'll be fine, you'll see."

"Ok, but can we figure that out later? Right now all I wanna do it sleep…"  
When Alex saw that Claire could barely keep her eyes open he took his daughter from her arms, kissed Claire on the head and got up.

"You sleep and I'll take care of our little sunshine here, ok?" he said but when he turned around he saw that Claire had already faded off.

"Look Charlotte" he told his daughter "Mummy's asleep. Why don't we two go outside and have a little talk, huh? There are so many things I need to tell you…"

With one last look at Claire he left their bedroom and took Charlotte out on the veranda for some father-daughter-bonding…

69

The weeks flew by and the wedding was getting closer and closer. Claire had learned to let go of some of her chores and now mainly did things around the house and delegated more. Once the horse training business was back up and running it would consume all her time anyway so she might as well start with delegating now.

Claire and Alex had already contacted some of their former customers and had gotten a positive answer from 2 of them. Their horses would arrive the week after the wedding which was now only 2 weeks away.

If Tess was not working on Drovers or getting on Claire's nerves with all kinds of wedding plans she was usually to be found at Wilgul keeping Nick company. Claire didn't really know what was going on between the two but they both looked rather happy lately so she decided to leave it at that. She was sure Tess would come and tell when she was ready.

Charlotte was 8 weeks old and the pride of her parents and grandparents. It was planned that Claire and Alex took another trip to Melbourne for a couple of days with their daughter so they could show her to Bryce and Liz and Alex could put the finishing touch on selling his apartment.

As far as the wedding itself was concerned the only thing that still needed to be done was Claire's wedding dress. They had put that off for as long as possible so Claire was able to get back to her 'pre-pregnant look' as she called it. Claire had decided to wear her mother's and grandmother's wedding dress. All her life she had wanted to get married in that dress but 10 years ago everything had happened so fast that she had never had the time to get the dress fixed up. But now was the time for that and Claire couldn't wait to get it done.

For that reason Tess would join them in Melbourne. Her and Claire had talked about what they wanted to change on the dress and what could stay the way it was. They would also pick out dresses for the brides maids. They had measured the girls and the dresses would be made and shipped to Drovers for a last fitting in time before the wedding.

The car was packed with all the things Claire, Alex, Tess and Charlotte needed for a week in the city and was now waiting for those four.

"Tess, are you finished yet? We should really go if we wanna make it half way to Melbourne today! What the hell is taking you so long?" an annoyed Claire shouted up the stairs. Alex was already settling Charlotte in the car so all that was missing was Tess.

"I'll be down in a minute Claire…I had to blow dry my hair!"

"Tess, we'll be in the car all day, no need to win a beauty contest! Get down here now or we'll leave without you!"

With that Claire stormed off. It was always the same with Tess…

Outside Alex was waiting for his wife and sister-in-law along with Nick, Meg, Jodi and Becky. They had all come to say goodbye.

"She still not finished?" He asked Claire as she left the house.

"Nope, she had to blow dry her hair…wonder who she thinks she needs to do that for…she promised to be down in a minute…" Claire rolled her eyes.

"And here she is!" Tess's happy voice came from behind them. "Ready to go?"

"We've been ready for ages Tess…" Claire muttered and went to hug everybody goodbye as did Alex and Tess.

They arrived in Melbourne late afternoon the following day. It had been a smooth ride, Charlotte seemed to love driving in the car so they didn't have to stop all that often so she could be changed and fed, but all 3 adults were glad that they had finally reached Alex's almost empty apartment.

"Finally…I need some sleep!" Tess said and threw herself on the couch.

Claire laughed "Hey, who's the one with the baby Tess? I didn't get much sleep last night because my daughter decided to start getting cranky the minute we stopped the car! If anybody needs sleep it's me!"

"Hey you two, stop fighting!" Alex said carrying in the last bags. "Why don't we all take a nap as long as BOM's sleeping and then go out and have something to eat and discuss who does what tomorrow…"

"Well, I better go to bed then before this precious one here decides to wake up and needs her Mum…" Claire said looking at Charlotte and then turning around to go to the bedroom. "Ah good, there are still sheets on the bed…"

Alex walked in behind her and gabbed her waist from behind "We left them on so I'd come back to sell everything, remember? Now Mrs McLeod-Ryan…would you do me the honour of sharing that bed with me?"

Claire smiled and turned around in his arms to kiss him. "Is that an offer Mr Ryan?"

Alex smirked "Not really…with Tess and Charlotte sleeping next door in the middle of the afternoon…don't think Tess would appreciate that!"

"Yep, you're probably right…it's only I miss you…"  
Then they heard Tess clearing her throat from the bedroom door. "I'm sorry to disturb you two lovebirds…but I need to know where you put my bag Alex. I need my mobile, I wanna call Nick and tell him we're here…"

"Oh, it's here." He pointed his head in the direction of Tess's bag.   
"Tess, would you also either call Drovers or tell Nick to call them?" Claire asked her sister which nodded and left the bedroom closing the door behind her.

Claire looked at Alex. "Do you know anything about my sister and your brother? I mean, Tess spends every free minute she's not planning our wedding on Wilgul! Has he said anything to you? "

"Sorry Claire, I don't know any more than you do…Nick doesn't talk about such things to me. But our siblings is not what I wanna talk about right now…"Alex said and pushed Claire to the bed all the while trying not to kiss her because he knew it would lead to more they could do right now. They hadn't had any sexual contact since Charlotte was born and Alex was slowly going crazy. But he wanted to give Claire the time she needed even if it killed him.

Lying down on the bed he wrapped Claire up in his arms and it didn't take them long to fall asleep.

Next door Tess was looking at a sleeping Charlotte while waiting for Nick to answer the phone. The two of them had decided to take things slow after their kiss in Melbourne, they had both ruined their relationship before and didn't want to take that risk again.

"Wilgul, Nick speaking…"

"Hi Nick!"

"Tess! Glad to hear your voice. Reckon you're in Melbourne now…"

"Yup, we're all tired and exhausted but made it safely…"

They went on talking about what was going on at the farms and all kinds of other things like they had done so often in the time since Alex was home. They could talk about little things for hours and not get bored by the other's presence. Both knew there was a constant tension between them but none of them felt ready to further explore that yet. At the moment they were just happy that they had each other back in their lives.

When Tess said goodbye to Nick 10 minutes later, he promised to call Drovers and Tess settled down for an afternoon nap with a huge smile on her face…


	19. Chapter 19

70

"Tess! Hurry up!" Claire shouted the following morning and muttered to herself "I thought she had gotten better!"

BOM was fast asleep in her stroller and Claire hoped they could make it to the bridal shop before she woke up again. If only Tess would hurry up…

"She still in the bathroom?" Alex asked and wrapped his arms around Claire from the back and kissed her on the hair.

"Yup…it's getting worse again Alex! Ever since her and Nick spend so much time together she's taking longer and longer again. And he's not even here!"

"When are you supposed to be at the shop?"

"In 35 minutes…"

"You'll be fine, only takes 20 minutes to get there…I wish I could go with you. I'd love to see you in that dress." Alex pointed to the table where the box was sitting that held the wedding dress of Claire's mother and grandmother.

"No way Ryan, you're gonna have to wait till our wedding day…well, second wedding day. When will you meet the estate agent?"  
"Should be here any minute now. He wanted to have a look at the apartment and the furniture and tell me what price I can get for everything. Claire, don't forget we're all invited to dinner at Mum's tonight. Bryce will be there, too. They wanna see their granddaughter." Alex looked proudly at his sleeping daughter. "She'll have them wrapped around her tiny fingers in no time…"

Claire smiled. "Just like she has everyone at Drovers, Killarney and Wilgul. She's one lucky child to have so many people care for her…did you tell your Mum that Tess is coming, too? I'd hate to leave her alone all evening"

"Yeah, I told her, she said that was not a problem. But she didn't sound very pleased…"

"Finished!" Tess emerged the bathroom dressed in her "city clothes" as Claire called them and she had put on makeup.

"That was about time! We'll be late to get to the bridal shop and the dressmaker will have to wait!"

Claire opened the front door and almost ran a middle aged man over with Charlotte's baby carriage. "Oh, sorry! You must be the estate agent, right?"

"Yeah, Jonathan Clark, nice to meet you Mrs. Ryan!"

"McLeod-Ryan…sorry Mr Clark, I'm in a hurry. My husbands inside, why don't you walk right through…" Mr Clark nodded and circled around the baby carriage only to have Claire shout "TESS!" in his ear.

After the women had left Mr. Clark took a look around the apartment.

"That's a very nice apartment Mr Ryan, and the area's nice, too. Think we can get a good price for it…"

Alex was very pleased to hear that.

Claire, Tess and Charlotte made it to the bridal shop with only five minutes delay but Claire was still a bit mad at her sister for taking so long in the bathroom.

"Mrs McLeod-Ryan?" an assistant approached them as they entered the shop offering her hand. Claire still felt a shiver run down her spine when she heard Alex's last name after hers. Even though they knew they were married for a while now, it was still a rather new feeling.

"Yes, sorry, we're a bit late…" Claire said with an side look on Tess. But her sister pretended not to have noticed.

"Oh, you're right on time…My name is Joan and I'll be your assistant for the day. Now if you want to follow me to the studio we can start right away. Pat, out tailor is already waiting for you. I assume you have your dress with you?"

Claire and Tess followed Joan through the shop, Tess carrying the box that held the wedding dress, Claire pushing Charlotte.

"How old is your child?" Joan asked when they entered the studio. Claire always dressed Charlotte in neutral colours so you couldn't tell right away that she was a girl.

"My daughter is eight weeks old now. Her name's Charlotte. I hope it's not a problem we brought her but I'm still breastfeeding so it would have been a problem to leave her with my husband…"

"That's not a problem…I'll be right back, I'll only tell Pat you're here so she can have a look at the dress so we can decide what is possible."

Pat was a nice woman in her mid forties who obviously liked to eat. She was more than twice the size of Claire but moved surprisingly quick. She looked at the dress the two sisters had brought with them and listened to what Claire and Tess had in mind about what could be changed.

Together they decided to make the dress shoulder free and sew gloves for Claire out of the gained cloth.

Pat took Claire's measurements and promised to have the dress finished till the end of the week for a last fitting so the sisters could take it back home with them.

Since Claire was already married she had decided not to wear a veil but instead just put her hair up and maybe, only maybe add some flowers.

Claire and Tess spent 6 hours in the shop but when they finally left it they had found dresses for every girl on Drovers Run including Charlotte. Pat had said she would make the perfect little dress for the girl so she'd match her mother.

All 3 of them were exhausted now and Charlotte was starting to get uncomfortable and whiny in her stroller.

"It's time we get home now dear, isn't it? You need a few hours of proper sleep in a bed…and so do I! I remember now why I don't like shopping!" Claire said and rocked Charlotte a little harder so the baby would calm down.

"Come on Claire. Admit it! You enjoyed being the centre of attention all day in there!" Tess said.

"Well, yeah…there are worse things…" Claire smiled.

"Yeah, like having dinner with Liz Ryan!" The words slipped out of Tess's mouth before she could think. "Sorry…"

"Tess, she's not all that bad! Though I have to admit I'm not particularly sad she's living in the city now…but compared to Sandra I'd take Liz any time? You think she knows about Sandra?"

"Claire, Liz Ryan hates me! I can never do anything right in her eyes!" Tess had never really told Claire what had happened between her and Nick and how Liz had interfered in their relationship. Nick knew now though Tess could tell he still didn't quite believe her.

"Hate is a strong word Tess…"  
"It's true Claire…" and finally Tess told her sister everything that had happened and what Liz had said to her. When she was finished Claire was fuming.

"I knew Liz was not an angel but that is just…oh, I'm gonna kill her tonight!"

"No you won't! I'm over it and so is Nick! We're just getting back together again and if you told Liz off you'd just make our situation worse again. Leave it Claire, please! I can live with Liz hating me, she lives far away from Drovers and Wilgul and I don't have to see her every day. Please Claire!"

"Ok, ok, I will try and keep quiet! But I can't guarantee for anything if she says one bad word about you tonight! Thank God Bryce will be there! That'll hopefully hold her back a bit! Come on Tess, we need to get back and change for the dinner or we'll be late. Though I really don't wanna go now…"

Back at the apartment Alex told them the good news Mr Clark had just phoned him with. He had already found somebody who wanted to buy the apartment and the price was great. Alex would get almost $30,000 more than what he had paid for originally.

Then they all changed and got on the way to have dinner with Liz and Bryce…

71

"Ready to face them?" Alex asked Claire and Tess as they were standing in front of Liz's house. The sisters looked at each other and nodded so Alex rang the doorbell.

It didn't take Liz long to open the door.

"Alex, Claire…Tess. Come inside and show me my granddaughter!"

Bryce was already there so after greeting everybody Claire took Charlotte out of her stroller and showed her around.

Both Bryce and Liz adored the little girl. It was Liz's first grandchild and the first granddaughter for Bryce.

"She's adorable Claire. So beautiful…" Liz had tears in her eyes as Claire put the baby in her arms.

"How does it feel to be a granny now, Mum?" Alex asked with a wink. He could see his mother loved Charlotte already and he was happy about that. Claire was right, Liz was the only grandmother his daughter would ever know.

"It's a good feeling actually. She has your nose Alex…and Claire's eyes. She's just adorable" Liz sighed.

"Can I have her, too? I am her grandfather after all…" Bryce said and Liz handed the baby over kissing her on the head.

"My first granddaughter…you did a good job Alex. And you too Claire. I love the boys but there's just something about those little females that gets me…and I know, I have 3 daughters!"

Alex heart sank when he heard Bryce mention his sisters. He would have loved to meet them bur knew it wasn't possible. Bryce's marriage was in trouble and had been for quite a while. If his family knew about his existence it would just throw them over the edge and one thing he really didn't want was his father losing his family. So he'd have to live with the knowledge of his sisters not knowing about him. Maybe one day but not now…

"Let's sit down and have dinner, shall we?" Liz said and they all followed her to the dinner table and sat down.

The rest of the evening went smoothly and everybody had a good time. Charlotte was the centre of everybody's attention and seemed to enjoy it. Liz behaved herself towards Tess and never made any bad comments towards her. Claire was thankful for that and decided to keep quiet for the sake of keeping a good relationship with her mother-in-law.

Bryce and Liz both promised to come to the wedding and were left with baby pictures and promises to keep them informed.

"Mum and Bryce look really good together, don't they?"

Claire and Alex were settled in bed, Claire's head resting on Alex's shoulder. After they had gotten back to the apartment Tess had called Nick right away which had given her a chuckle from her sister. Claire and Alex had put Charlotte to bed and had then slipped under the covers themselves.

"What you mean?" Claire lifted her head and looked in Alex's eyes to see what he was on about.

"I mean there are still some sparks flying between them, even after 30 years. I wonder if Bryce wasn't still married if they'd get back together…"

Claire laughed. Alex looked like a little boy on a mission. "Who would have thought…Alex Ryan wants to set up his parents…"

"Get away Claire! Bryce is married so there is no getting back together for them…"

"Didn't you say Bryce's marriage was in trouble? Maybe he's really thinking about getting together with Liz…not that I really wanna think about what they would be doing." She shuddered. "Harry's with Sandra now and as much as I hate her I must admit that I haven't seen Harry that relaxed and happy since the truth about your father came out…"

"Yeah, I know. And you know, I really think if Mum and Bryce were together they could both be happier than they are now…"

"Well Mr Ryan, this is none of our business. And for me all that counts right now is you and our daughter. But who knows, if Bryce decides to end his marriage you might get to see your sisters at last. I know you want to meet them…"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, maybe only to me but when Bryce mentioned them today I saw the hurt in your eyes. Why did he never tell them about you?"

"He wanted to keep his family together I guess and I would have only been a complication to his marriage that was already falling apart. It's ok, one day I will meet them, I'm sure about that. Right now I'm happy with what I have…Mum and Dad both talking to me again, an extra father who really seems to care about me, a beautiful daughter and not to forget the most gorgeous wife a man could want…have I told you today that I love you Claire?"

Claire smiled and felt the emotions welling up in her "I love you too Alex! More than I ever thought was possible. And I promise you everything will be all right!" She moved her head closer to him so he could kiss her.

As their lips touched Claire felt all the passion she had held back in the last weeks rise up inside her. And the way it seemed Alex felt the same. They kiss got more and more passionate till Alex broke away from her.

"Claire…" he said with a breathless voice "We gotta stop now or I can't guarantee for anything…Tess is next door and BOM is sleeping on the other end of the room…I wouldn't be right…"

Claire pulled his head closer again and just went on kissing him. "I don't care about Tess or BOM right now…I want you Alex, I need you!" she whispered against his lips. After kissing her for a few more moments Alex once again pulled away from Claire.

"Claire, you're killing me…but I can't…not with Tess next door…"

"I can be quiet if you can…" Claire said with a seductive wiggle.

"I can't…sorry. Let's wait till we're back home, ok? It'll only be 3 more days…"

Claire sighed. Alex was right, now was not the right time. She sighed again and rested her head on his shoulder again. "This will be tough 3 days…" she said and felt Alex nod and heard a deep sigh.

"Yes…I'll be dead by the end of the week…"

Claire chuckled "So will I…on another note, what would you think if we visited Edna before we leave again? I'm sure she'd love to see Charlotte."

"You really like the old woman, don't you?" Alex smiled at the thought of Edna. She sire was a special lady.

"Yeah, she's like the grandmother I never had. Can we go see her?"

"I'd love to Claire. We can call her tomorrow, ok? Now let's get some sleep or I might just forget about Tess and BOM…"

"Is that an offer?" Claire smirked.

"Claire!" Alex kissed or on the head and Claire sighed and turned to the side. "Night Claire…" Alex said and rolled up behind her grabbing her waist.

"Night Alex…"

It took both of them quite a while to fall asleep…

72

The next morning Claire called Edna to tell her they were in the city. She had called the old lady several times since she had last seen her and had even sent her pictures of the baby. She knew Edna would love to see Charlotte and was right. They were all invited for lunch that day.

"That's done…what do we do today?" Claire sat back down at the table on the balcony where they had just finished breakfast.

"Well, I guess we have to pack the rest of my things together and load them in the car. But we should be able to get that done before we leave for lunch at Edna's. When are we supposed to be there?" He had only heard Claire say that lunch sounded fine but not an exact time.

"She's expecting us at 12:30."

"Am I going, too? I only met her before we left the last time so she doesn't really know me…" Tess wasn't sure if she was invited for lunch as well.

"Believe me Tess, Edna knows probably more about you than you know about her! It looks like our Ms I'm-as-tough-as-nails told her all about us! At least I got quite a few questions when we went there for lunch the last time…"

Claire was sulky "She's a nice lady and I needed someone to listen to me without any judgement…" She was glad to hear Charlotte crying so she could escape the situation. She knew it wasn't right that she had talked about everything with Edna just like that. But like she had said she needed somebody to listen at that time.

She got BOM out of her crib and freed one of her breasts so the baby could drink.

Alex peaked through the bedroom door and asked "You alright Claire? I didn't mean it like that…neither Tess nor I think it's a bad thing you talked to Edna. But you have to admit it's not really like you to do something like that. But she helped you and that's all that counts."

"I know I shouldn't have told her everything but she makes me feel safe. Like I've known her for a long time…"

"Yeah, me too. I'll tell ya something. Why don't we invite her to our wedding? I'm sure she'd love that and if she says yes we'll organize something for her so she can get to Drovers…"

Claire had a huge grin on her face now. She liked the idea "Deal…we'll ask her today. Now go and pack your things so we're finished that and can enjoy lunch. I'll help ya when I'm finished with our little sunshine here. She must take after her Dad…always hungry!"

Alex only smiled and shrugged his shoulders "Nothing bad about taking after me…" he said and left Claire and Charlotte alone.

Four hours later they pulled up in front of Edna's house. The boxes were all packed but not in the car yet. They'd do that the next day after Claire and Tess would be back from the bridal shop.

Edna was once again waiting at the front door when they pulled up, waving at the 3 adults in the car.

"Come on in! Lunch is almost finished. Now let me see that beautiful daughter of yours!" She said and sat down. Claire got Charlotte out of her car seat and put her in Edna's arms.

"She's lovely Claire…looks a bit like Alex though but she has your eyes. How old is she now? 9 weeks?"

"Yes, almost. She will be on Sunday."

"And you really had her in a shed? I thought young women like you wanted all the medication they could get. Even I had my sons in a hospital!"

Claire laughed. "I didn't really have a choice. She wanted to come into this world so quickly that we didn't have time to make it to the hospital. The nearest was over an hour away."

"It's good then you had help…"

"Yeah, Alex was with me the whole time and Tess was the best midwife I could have asked for."

Edna looked up at Tess "Well done young lady. Claire, could you look after the lunch for me? The roast should be finished by now…"

"Umm, why don't I go?" Tess suggested. "Claire's not really all that good in the kitchen…"

"You stay here Tess, I wanna talk to you and get to know you a little better. Claire will be fine, she needs to learn that at one point if she wants to be a good wife and mother…" Tess shrugged her shoulders and looked at Claire apologetic.

"I'll go then…Alex, would you give me a hand? Two bad cooks make a better cook if they work together, right?"

Alex didn't look too pleased but followed Claire into the kitchen while Edna started questioning Tess about her life and what she had planned for the future. Just like Claire Tess liked the old lady right away and was glad she had somebody that listened to her dreams. She loved talking and Edna loved to listen, so why not take advantage of that?

After lunch Alex leaned back in his chair and rubbed his stomach. "That was wonderful Edna! Thanks for that. And Claire didn't even ruin it…maybe there's still hope for you McLeod!"

"Alex, stop teasing your wife!" Edna criticized him "You know, my husband George and I always used to cook together. It was a lot easier and everything was finished faster. Maybe you should help Claire when you're back home…"

Alex looked puzzled and Claire and Tess laughed out loud.  
"There you have it Ryan! Even in times when Edna was young there were men out there that actually helped their women with the housework!" Claire couldn't resist to say.

"Yeah, yeah, I know Claire…but I'm better now!" Alex said a little offended. Claire leaned over and kissed him. "I know, at least you know how to clean a bathroom now…"

Edna and Tess laughed and Edna got up to make some tea.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with talking, talking and more talking. Edna wanted to know everything about Claire running Drovers, hers and Alex's horse training, Tess's alpaca breeding, how far they'd come with the preparations for the wedding.

When the talk came to their wedding Claire looked at Alex and he nodded to let encourage her.

"Edna…there's something Alex and I would like to ask you…"

"Then just go ahead dear! I hope it's nothing bad, is it?"

"No, it's not…Alex and I talked about it and we would both like you to come to our wedding. We would arrange something for you that you'd get to Drovers Run and you can stay with us for as long as you like…It would really mean a lot to us…"

Edna's eyes were welling up with tears. She hadn't expected that. Secretly hoped for it but never expected. Her own family lived so far away. One of her sons lived in England now with his family, the other had moved to the USA. She had 4 grandchildren in their teens and could count the times she had seen them on one hand.

"Oh Claire…I would love to come! Thank you so much for inviting me! Are you sure I'm not in the way?"

"Edna" Alex said, "We wouldn't have asked you to come and stay with us if we didn't mean it. Like Claire said, you're welcome for as long as you want. I'll talk to my father and mother. They're both coming to the wedding from here, I'm sure they wouldn't mind taking you with them." He was sure that Bryce wouldn't mind but wasn't too sure about his mother. But he told himself she'd get over it.

They called Bryce and arranged a ride for Edna right away and when it was time to leave Claire and Alex hugged Edna and thanked her for the nice day and that she'd come to their wedding.

"I have to thank you for inviting me. Both my sons are married but I was only at the ceremony of my oldest. And I never had a daughter and I hardly ever see my granddaughters. I consider you family Claire, I hope you know that."

"Thanks Edna, I do too. I never had a grandmother but now I feel like I have one! See you in a week then…"

They all said goodbye and drove off with a content feeling that life was just as good as it could be….

73

The next morning Claire, Tess and Charlotte were once again on their way to the bridal shop for Claire's dress fitting. Alex had another appointment with Jonathan Clark who would bring the possible buyers with him this time. Alex really hoped they would come to an agreement today so he had the money real soon. He needed it if he wanted to buy Claire the wedding present he was looking at. After letting her down 10 years ago and getting her pregnant again and leaving her she really deserved that present.

When Alex heard the doorbell be was taken out of his thoughts. So he went to open the door.

"Ah, Mr Ryan, my I introduce you to Ashley Redstaff and Logan Hollister. They're here to visit the apartment."

Alex jaw dropped as he saw his sister standing in the doorway and he could see that she remembered him too. He had only seen her a couple times when he had met Bryce at his office but they had talked on the phone whenever Alex had called his father.

"Mr Ryan, nice to meet you again!" she smiled at Alex and offered him her hand.

Alex took it trying to gain back his conscience "Miss Redstaff, nice to meet you again too, Mr Hollister, please come in!" he was finally able to say.

Alex could see Logan's questioning look at Ashley but she whispered something in his ear and he nodded relieved.

"As you can see my things are already packed for leaving so feel right at home and have a look at everything." Alex said once they had entered the living room.

"You are leaving Mr Ryan? My father didn't tell me about that. Any particular reason?"

"I'm going back to where I grew up to be with my wife and daughter…" Alex said looking at the young woman. He knew she was 3 years younger than him and that she had been together with Logan for almost 5 years. And now it looked like they had decided to move in together.

"Oh, I didn't know you had a wife, Dad never told me you were married."

"It's a long story but I've only known for a couple of weeks myself…"

Alex could see Ashley was quite curious about what he meant with that but she didn't ask any further questions.

They looked around the apartment together and Alex explained some things. When they had seen everything Ashley turned to Logan and said "This is perfect honey…I can really see us living in here. What do you think?"

After Logan had nodded in agreement Ashley hugged him and turned to Alex. "How fast can we move in?" she asked.

Alex smiled. It sounded like this would be Ashley's first apartment of her own. "Well, how soon can you get the money together? My family and I will be going back home tomorrow so you can move in here as soon as everything's signed and paid for."

"Ah, payment's not a problem, my Dad will take care of the that. I'm sure you won't mind if he has a look at the contract…"

"No, no, that's fine. How soon do you think we could get everything done?"

"Well, I'll take the contract to Dad today and if he agrees we can come back here tomorrow morning before you leave and sign everything and he can arrange with you how you get the money." Alex wondered how his father would react if he knew that Ashley wanted to buy her brother's apartment.

"Sounds fine by me…thank you Ms Redstaff. Mr Hollister, it was really nice meeting you!"

Alex showed them to the door and had a huge smile on his face after they left. His father was paying for the apartment which meant he would get the money as soon as possible and that meant he could buy Claire the wedding present she deserved…

Halfway across town Claire was just trying on her wedding dress for the first time. From the first look it had turned out great but she wanted to wait with her judgement till she was wearing it. Tess had taken BOM to the toilet to change her nappy so Claire was all alone trying to put the dress on. After some trouble with closing the zipper she finally managed and then took a look in the mirror. The dress looked good, really good. Then she put on the gloves Pat had made and looked again. She really liked what she saw. The dress was simple but elegant and the changes made it look a bit more modern. And the gloves were the perfect addition to the appearance.

"Claire, you look amazing!" Tess shouted. She had just entered the room carrying an almost sleeping Charlotte. "I knew you look good in a dress but this…WOW! You're gonna knock Alex of his feet when he sees you in this dress!"

Claire turned around to look in the mirror once again "You think?"

"Oh yeah"

Then Pat walked in to see if Claire needed any help and to look if there was anything that needed changing.

"I see you didn't have a problem putting it on. And let me tell you you look really great…"

She went over to Claire and turned her around in every possible direction. "I don't think there's anything we need to change, it fits perfectly. Your husband will be a very happy man, Mrs McLeod-Ryan…Let me show you what I've made for your daughter."

Pat left the room for a few seconds to come back with a small, white dress that matched Claire's perfectly.

"Oh Pat, this is lovely! She'll look just like her mother!" Tess shouted out and Claire could only agree with her sister.

"Would you like to try it on? We don't want it to be too small so she doesn't fit in it next week." Pat suggested and Claire, still in her wedding dress, tried to change BOM into the dress without waking the little girl up. When she was finished she picked Charlotte up and held her so both Pat and Tess could see her.

"Like I said…it looks lovely! Claire, could we make a photo of you and your daughter for our catalogue? We like to show people what we can do for them…like matching outfits for mother and child…" Pat asked truly excited.

"I don't know, I'm not very photogenic…I'm not even wearing any makeup!"

"Oh don't worry about that…that's something we can change quickly!"

Claire looked at Tess asking for advice. She didn't really like any pictures of her but maybe this one would be better…

So when Tess nodded Claire agreed to let the bridal shop photographer take pictures of her with Charlotte.

When Tess and Claire left the bridal shop 2 hours later everything was set and the pictures were taken. Claire had hers and Charlotte's dress in 2 boxes and the dresses for Tess, Meg, Jodi and Becky would be shipped to Drovers throughout the next week so Meg still had enough time to change what didn't really fit.

Back at the apartment Alex told them what had happened this morning with Ashley and that he was now waiting for her or Bryce's call to confirm the deal.

"I can't believe my sister wants to buy my apartment! I wonder what Bryce will say to all this!"

Claire laughed "Yeah, it is a small world after all…"

30 minutes later a surprised Bryce called his son to confirm the deal and promised him to be meet him together with Ashley and Logan the next day.

Alex, Claire and Tess then filled the car with the rest of the boxes so everything would be set for them to leave to Drovers Run the next morning…


	20. Chapter 20

74

The car was already packed and the apartment was empty when Ashley knocked on the door the next morning.

Alex opened and smiled when he saw his sister "Ah, Ms Redstaff…where did you leave your boyfriend?"

"He has to work today. And it's Ashley!"

"Fine Ashley, come in! I'm Alex…"

Alex led her in the apartment where Tess, Claire and Charlotte were waiting to meet Ashley. Tess was very curious what Alex's sister looked like and although Claire had seen Ashley when she was in Bryce's office she hadn't known it was her sister-in-law then. If only they could tell her that…

"Ashley, this is my wife Claire and my daughter Charlotte and this is my sister-in-law Tess McLeod." Alex introduced them.

"Claire, nice to see you again! I see you've had your baby! She's beautiful! Nice to meet you Ms McLeod!"

"It's Tess…"

"Where's Bryce?" Alex asked after the introduction round was over. "Didn't he want to come, too?"

"Oh, he'll be here any minute, he was just parking the car." Ashley said and they heard a knock on the door. "There he is!"

Alex left the others in the living room to open the door and let his father in.   
"Bryce…"

"Alex, what a nice surprise, huh? How are you today?"

"I'm fine, come in. We're all in the living room."

After Bryce had made his round and said hello to everybody they all sat down to sign the papers that he had brought with him and finalize the sale of the apartment.

"The money is already on the way to your account Alex, all you need to do is sign here and here…you wanna have a look at the papers first?" He handed them over to Alex.

"Just a quick read through, I hope you've been fair to me!" Alex said with a wink as he read through the paragraphs quickly. He was really glad that Bryce and Ashley were the buyers because he knew his father would be fair and get the money to him as quickly as he could.

When he was finished Alex took the pen that Bryce had put on the living room table and signed the papers where he had to.

"Well, this is yours now Ashley" he said "You'll like it here!" Alex handed her the keys and grinned as he saw the broad smile on her face.

"Thanks Alex…my first apartment…thank you Dad! I will pay you back!" She went to hug her father followed by Alex.

Bryce watched the scene between his daughter and his son. Alex looked so proud and so happy for his sister even though he knew she didn't know anything. He knew he wasn't being fair to both of them and his other two daughters for not telling the truth and maybe it was time to do something about it. Not now but very soon. He needed to tell his family about Alex if he wanted his granddaughter to know him as her grandfather. He wasn't sure how his daughters would react to the news but he knew his wife would leave him for good after that. Their marriage had been troubled for quite a while now and he was sure that Alex would be the last drop that would make the drum overflow. But that didn't matter, he wanted to accept Alex as his completely and if it meant losing his wife that was it.

"You all right?" Alex brought his father out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was wondering if I could hold your daughter for a while. She's so lovely!"

"Sure you can…" Claire said and handed Charlotte over to Bryce.

"Dad, I'll just go down to the car and get the first of my things to make this apartment fully mine, all right?" and when Bryce nodded Claire and Tess looked at each other and Tess said "Why don't Claire and I give you a hand so the men can have a little time to chat about men things…"

After the three women had left silence filled the room. Charlotte was looking at her grandfather with huge eyes and Bryce looked at her proudly and Alex watched the whole scene.

Finally Alex broke the silence "Thank you for bringing Edna down to the wedding! It really means a lot to Claire. Do you know when you'll be coming?"

"That's no problem, Alex. She's a lovely lady, how did Claire meet her? Anyway…we'll arrive in Fisher Thursday afternoon and are coming by plane. I've rented a car so you don't have to pick us up. We should be on Drovers Thursday evening. Liz and I are staying in Gungellan. We've already booked the rooms. Oh, by the way, the estate agent is taking care of, I did that yesterday. And I'm sure the money for the apartment is on you account already. What will you do with it?"

"Claire and I need it to get our training business back up and running but first I need it to buy Claire a wedding present. She never got one 10 years ago…"

"Oh, that's nice, what do you have in mind?"  
"Promise not to tell her!" Alex said and when Bryce nodded he added "I'll be at a horse auction in Fisher Tuesday and Wednesday to get us some training contracts and I hope I can find Claire a new stallion there. You know, she wants to breed horses and it'll be so much easier if she owns her own stallion. Keep your fingers crossed I can find one! Because if not then I've run out of ideas…"

Just then they heard the chatting and laughing of the three women as they re-entered the apartment, each of them carrying a suitcase.

"You two done talking?" Claire asked looking at Bryce and Alex. "Because I really think we should get going if we wanna get anywhere close to home today…"

Alex nodded and Bryce handed Charlotte back to him.

"Ok Alex, it was nice to get to see you again before you leave. We'll stay in touch, ok?"

They all said their goodbyes to each other and 15 minutes later Claire, Alex, Tess and Charlotte were on their way home to Drovers Run…

75

Since Charlotte was a good girl and only woke up when she was hungry the 3 adults decided to drive all the way home in one day. So when they arrived on Drovers late that night all 3 of them were exhausted. Only Charlotte seemed happy after the trip, she truly liked to be driven around.

The homestead was dark as they drove up since nobody had expected them back that day and the next day was a regular work day.

"Can we just unload the necessary things and do the rest tomorrow? I'm dead already!" Tess complained.

"I guess since nothing can get wet in the very unlikely case of a rainfall I guess we can do that. We'd only wake up the others if we unloaded the car anyway…" Alex agreed as he took BOM's car seat out and headed towards the house. Claire followed with the box that held her wedding dress and Tess had hers and Charlotte's bag and went back outside to get Alex's and Claire's. Everything else could wait in the car till the next day.

"I'm starving!" Tess announced while Alex and Claire were putting Charlotte to bed. "Shall I fix us all some sandwiches before we go to bed?"

"That would be nice Tess, we'll be right down as soon as this little girl here sleeps…" Claire said.

Ten minutes later they joined Tess in the kitchen who was just finished with fixing the sandwiches.

"Ah, this is good…" Alex sat down next to Claire and took a bite of his sandwich. "Thanks Tess, I was starving, too since my daughter was the only one who got her food regularly today…"  
"Oh you poor man…you won't die just because you don't get fed." Claire teased him.

"If we didn't have Meg or Tess or Becky we'd all be starving…because neither you nor me can cook and I also doubt you can call it cooking what Jodi does…" Alex chuckled.

"Well, nobody ever really showed me how to do it and Meg was always here so there was no need to learn it…" Claire defended herself. "And I can make a great sandwich…we'd just have to live of that!"

"Well, I can make a salad and I can grill so I guess we wouldn't starve if we were alone…we'd just have to have a BBQ every night!"

Claire laughed "You'd like that, huh?"

"Sure would…" Alex replied moving closer to Claire. "Hey McLeod…what about a date tonight…just you and me…" he asked her totally forgetting about Tess who only smiled at her sister and brother-in-law.

"Date sounds fine Ryan…anything special planned?" Claire whispered and kissed him on the lips.

"I can think of something we haven't done in quite a while…" Alex kissed her back.

"Jeez you two…you have a room, you know?" Tess grinned. She liked to watch her sister and Alex be happy together but this was enough now. And she was glad she had her room downstairs now so she didn't have to hear whatever they were doing…

"That was our call Alex…" Claire said and got up. "Come on, I've waited long enough…" she added and was surprised at herself she had said those words in front of her sister. But she couldn't help it, she wanted Alex…NOW!

They left a laughing Tess in the kitchen while Claire pulled Alex up the stairs towards their bedroom. Once the door was closed behind them Claire pushed Alex against it and started kissing him passionately moving her hands up and down his chest.

"Whoa Claire…"Alex managed to say breathless between two kisses "Slow down or this won't last very long…"

"I don't want it to last long right now…" Claire said with a smirk and looked Alex in the eyes. He could see passion in them and groaned as Claire pulled his shirt out of his jeans and he felt her hands slip under it while she started kissing him again with even more passion. Alex pulled the shirt over his head quickly and took Claire back in his arms right after that kissing her again.

Claire fumbled with his belt but needed Alex's help to open it. They moved closer and closer to the bed kicking his shoes off Alex nearly stumbled as Claire unbuttoned the jeans and pulled them off him. Alex now only wore his boxers which didn't really hide his passion anymore and when he moved away from Claire's lips for a second to catch some breath he looked down at her and started laughing.

"What?" Claire asked.

"Why is it I'm almost completely naked and you're still wearing all your clothes?"

"Well Mr Ryan…I guess I'm more passionate than you…but I wouldn't mind if you undressed me now…" Claire said with a seductive voice. "Wouldn't mind that at all…"

Alex smiled and said "Your wish is my command…" and pulled Claire's shirt out of her pants and over her head without unbuttoning. He touched her breasts that the pregnancy and the breastfeeding had done miracles to through her bra and then went to open the front lock.

"Careful Alex" Claire whispered "maybe I should leave it on…I might leak…"  
Alex smiled "I don't really care if you leak Claire, I wanna touch you…" and with that he opened her bra and let it slip to the floor.

Placing little kisses on her body starting by Claire's neck Alex slowly made his way down to her tummy and he kneeled down in front of her to open her jeans and help her out of her boots.

They finally fell on the bed together kissing each other passionately while removing the remaining underwear.

After that there was no stopping them and they made love to each other for the first time since Charlotte was born…

Afterwards Alex rolled to the side and Claire nestled her head on his chest both of them still breathing heavily.

"You are amazing Claire…you know that? Just amazing!" Alex said and kissed her on the head.

"Well, you weren't too bad yourself Alex…thank you, I really needed that tonight."  
"My pleasure, my pleasure Mrs McLeod-Ryan…you can't imagine how hard it was lying next to you every night and not being able to touch you…"

"Oh, I can Mr Ryan…believe me, I can…" Claire said kissing his chest as her hand slowly wandered down his stomach in little circles.

"Can't get enough of me, can ya?" Alex said with a wink and lifted Claire's head so he could kiss her.

"Never Alex, never…" Claire whispered and kissed him passionately…

They made love to each other till the sun was already starting to rise again, a few times interrupted by Charlotte who wanted to be fed or changed. They finally fell asleep in the early morning hours and for once Claire didn't care about taking care of the farm or the horses, she was just happy in her husbands arms as she faded off to sleep…

76

It was Tuesday and Alex was just getting ready to leave for the horse auction. He had half expected that Claire wanted to come with him but was quite surprised she hadn't said anything yet. She had even helped him pack without packing something for herself or Charlotte.

Alex planned to stay in Fisher over night because driving all the way back home would have just been a waste of time and money. This would mark their first night apart from each other ever since Claire had found Alex in Melbourne.

"You sure you'll be fine?" Alex asked once again and Claire rolled her eyes.

"For the 10th time…yes Alex, we'll manage! There's not much to do round the place this week so Becky and Jodi can manage alone and Tess and I can do the last preparations fro our wedding. Everything will be just fine now go and find us some good clients!" Claire pushed Alex out the door and towards his car.

"I'll miss you!" she said before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately. "Now in you hop! The sooner you leave the more clients you'll get!" Claire then said and gave Alex's bum a slap. "And drive carefully! I don't want a half dead husband wrapped around a tree somewhere…I need you on Saturday looking your best!"

Alex laughed and said "I always drive careful!" which got him a questioning look from Claire. He climbed in his car and poked his head through the open window so Claire could kiss him once more, then he drove off.

What Claire didn't know was, that Alex would stop by on Killarney first to exchange his ute with one of Killarney's that had a horse trailer attached to it. He had talked to Harry about leaving the new horse for Claire on Killarney till the wedding and everything was arranged for that. Harry had liked the idea of giving Claire a horse for the wedding, it was a smart business move in his eyes. Alex smiled at the thought. That's all Harry could see. But Alex could already see Claire's eyes when she'd see the new horse…now he only needed to find one!

On Drovers Claire waved Alex goodbye till his ute had disappeared over the hills. Then she ran back inside the house and shouted for Tess.

"Tess? He's gone! Where are you?" Claire went looking for her sister and found her in the study on the phone. "Tess, come on! We need to get going if we wanna finish this before Alex comes back! There's a lot to do!"

"Hold on Nick…Claire, can I just finish this phone call? I'll be right with you then and if you're lucky Nick will kind enough to help us…" Then Tess turned her attention back to the phone.

Claire leaned on the doorframe, her foot impatiently moving to a silent beat. When Tess had finally finished her phone call and hung up Claire let out a huge sigh and said "You finally finished? Come on move! We only have 2 days…"

"Will you slow down Claire? We won't get anything done if you keep pushing like a bulldozer!"

"Yeah yeah…" Claire ignored her sister's comment and headed for the cellar door.

This was all about Alex's wedding present. While Claire and Tess had been at the bridal shop in Melbourne the other day they had talked about what Claire wanted to give to Alex on their wedding day. Claire hadn't had a single idea what she could give her husband. She had had some things in mind but they had all been too expensive for her bank account. They had talked about how happy Claire was to have Alex back and living on Drovers and Claire had shared that she knew Alex wasn't truly happy with their living arrangement because he still felt kind of like a visitor that just stayed a little longer. Finally Tess had come up with the idea of giving Alex his own spot on Drovers Run, something that was his and his alone. The thought of a party room had crossed Claire's mind right away but there had always been the room problem. After thinking about it for quite a while Claire had remembered the unused cellar room behind the storage room they used under the main house. It would need a lot of work but she knew it could work out…

So when Claire had heard that Alex wanted to go to the horse auction in Fisher the week before their wedding and stay there over night she had arranged everything so they could turn the cellar room into a party room.

"Are you sure that's really a good idea?" Tess asked as she followed her sister down the stairs into the cellar. "It's so dark down here…"

"Tess, that's what the electrician will come for any minute now…to give us some proper light and electricity down here…Did Nick get the floor boards I asked him to buy for me?"

"Yes, he'll be here once he's finished with work on Wilgul. Shouldn't be too long, there's not much to do there either…what do we do till the electrician comes?"

"Well, clean up the whole place…" Claire said and smiled as she took a look around the room. This was big enough to hold the pool table and set up a place to play darts along with some benches to sit on. The only problem was getting everything down here through the small cellar door…

"Hello?" they heard a voice from upstairs "Mrs McLeod-Ryan?" The electrician had arrived.

In the next hours the cellar room was filled with light and electricity which proved to be more challenging than originally thought. But in the end it worked and the room was lit and had sockets so you could plug in a stereo system and a fridge.

After the electrician had left Nick helped to even the floor and put the new floorboards in and by the end of the day the room already looked like you could spend some time in it…

Alex had reached Fisher faster than he had thought so he decided to check out the auction ground first before he'd check into the hotel. He wanted to have a good look at all the horses that would be up for auction and hoped he could find one that was right for Claire.

After seeing some beautiful mares Alex finally came to a box that had a beautiful dark brown stallion in it. The animal looked wild and feisty but Alex knew this was the horse for Claire. He looked at the name and then looked it up in the auction schedule. The horse wouldn't be up till tomorrow which would give him enough time today to find new clients for their training business. And with the stallion being untamed the price would probably not go all that high so if he was lucky the extra $30,000 would be enough.

Smiling and whistling a song Alex went back to his car and drove to the hotel to check in…this was going to be some good days. He could feel it!

77

The next day Alex was on his way back to Killarney in the late afternoon. He had gotten the stallion he had looked at the day before and the price had been fairly cheap for such a beautiful animal. The horses name was Thor, God of Thunder or Thunder for short. Alex liked the correlation with Claire's horse she had had ten years ago, Lighting. Thunder had one of the best bloodlines you could find and he had only been that cheap because he was still untamed. But Alex was sure Claire would be able to break him in. She had this feeling about horses like Thunder that he could only admire. He wasn't a too bad himself but he had to admit when it came to breaking in horses nobody was better than Claire. Not that he'd ever admit that to her.

Once Alex reached Killarney Harry and Sandra walked out of the house to take a look at the new horse Alex had bought for his wife. The paddock he was supposed to stay in till Saturday was already waiting for him, all they had to do was get him in there.

"Ready to get him out of the trailer, Alex?" Harry asked as he and Sandra walked closer.

"Stay out of the way Dad." Alex said "He's pretty wild…" and started to open the back of the trailer.

"Why did you buy Claire a wild horse Alex? I thought this was meant for your breeding programme!"

"You'll see Dad, he's the best horse that was for sale there and I got him fairly cheap because he's not broken in." Alex smiled "And besides…Claire will love to do just that!"

With that Alex slowly went into the trailer to lead Thunder outside. The horse was still sedated so he didn't have too much trouble getting him into the paddock.

Even in this state Harry could see what a beautiful horse Thunder was and he had to admit Alex had made a good choice. He only hoped his son was right and Claire was able to tame the horse so they could use him for breeding…

Meanwhile on Drovers Nick, Tess and Claire put the finishing touches on Alex's party room. Earlier that day Claire and Tess had taken Charlotte into Gungellan to look for a stereo system and darts equipment while Nick was building benches with the help of Becky. After they had finished they had dismantled the pool table that Becky had once stolen out of the Gungellan pub and that was still in sheering shed and had brought it into the party room bit by bit to put it back together. Now everything was finished and Claire took a look around.

"What do you think Nick? Is this the right thing for Alex?"

"Claire, don't be so worried! Alex will love that! The only thing he might miss down here is a TV to watch footie…"  
"Right, I should have thought about that…"

"It wasn't possible in such a short time and he'll know"

Tess stroked Claire's shoulders and added "Look at it this way…it could be your next birthday or Christmas present for him…"

Claire smiled. Tess and Nick were right. The party room looked great and it would give Alex his own space on Drovers if he ever felt he needed to get away from his wife and daughter for a while.

They filled the fridge with beer and loaded copies of Alex's favourite CDs into the stereo system. Claire was glad she didn't have to be down here when he played that music and hoped she wouldn't hear too much of it upstairs. The cellar walls were thick and there was a massive ceiling as well so she was hopeful.

"Come on, let's get put of here and lock the door…Alex should be back any minute now…"

Just as they closed the cellar door and Nick and Tess went upstairs to clean themselves, Alex's ute rolled up to the homestead.

Claire hurried outside to meet her husband. She had really missed him that last night. So when she reached his car Claire jumped in his arms and kissed him passionately.

"Easy Claire! You would think we haven't seen each other for a week instead of a day!" Alex laughed as their lips parted again. "One could think you missed me last night…" he placed another kiss on her lips.

Claire smiled at him "Yeah, I missed you last night…I had to take all of BOM's night calls alone!" she said because she didn't want to sound too sentimental. They had talked on the phone for quite a while in the evening but it had been strange to not have Alex by her side after the 3 month they were now sharing a bed.

"Is that all?" Alex wanted to know as they walked back to the house arm in arm.

"Sure, why else should I miss you?" Claire replied with the most innocent tone she could come up with.

"Come on McLeod, admit it…you can't resist me and you missed me warming your bed!"

"I do admit it was a little cold in bed last night…" Claire gave Alex a little slap on the bum and ran towards the house. Alex laughed and followed her.

They nearly knocked Meg over as they ran into the kitchen.

"Careful you two or you won't get anything for dinner!"

"Sorry Meg…but Claire won't admit she missed me!" Alex kissed Meg on the cheek "Whatever you have in those pots…it smells gorgeous!"

Meg smiled. She could understand Tess and Claire, both Ryan boys had that little something about them that made a woman feel good…

"Come on Alex, let's go in the study and see what you got for me…" Claire said and after Alex seductively wiggled his eyebrows she added "business wise!"

Alex laughed and followed his wife into the study.

Once inside Claire closed the door behind them and pushed Alex against the door pressing her lips hard against his. Alex was surprised but didn't complain. When they came up for air he smiled and said "So you did miss me that way…"

"Never said anything else…" Claire smiled at him "But now tell me, did you get any more contracts today?"

They sat down on the chair behind the desk together and talked about what contracts Alex had gotten in the last two days. He had gotten four horses for training with the option for another three once those four were successfully trained. The horses would start arriving the next week.

"This will bring us right back up Claire. You should have seen them when I told them I was back and we would start our business again. I don't think there was anybody around here that was training horses while I was gone! This will be great Claire!"

Claire smiled at Alex's enthusiasm. She knew he was happy working on Killarney again but the training business would be theirs and theirs alone. No interfering from Harry or anybody else.

"I know Alex…and maybe one day we'll have enough money for breeding as well…"

"We will Claire, I promise you we will…" and in his thoughts he added 'Sooner than you think!'


	21. Chapter 21

78

It was Thursday morning and everybody was getting ready for the arrival of the first wedding guests. Bryce, Liz and Edna would be flying in today and Claire couldn't wait to see the old lady again. In the few times she'd met her she had really become like a grandmother to her and Claire wanted to show Edna the farm she was so proud of.

Alex was nervous because this would be the first time Bryce saw him where he grew up and he wanted his father to be proud of him. The other thing that made him nervous was that he didn't really know how Harry would react to Bryce's presence and how Liz would take the fact that Sandra was now living at Killarney. His whole family was a mess and for once in his life Alex wished he had as little family as Claire had.

Claire had been running around like a flushed chook all day trying to make sure Edna's room and everything else was all right. They had called her earlier in the week to ask if she preferred the downstairs bedroom Tess now had or if it would be all right to have the spare room upstairs, After Edna had insured them the spare room would be just fine for her Meg had cleaned it and put new sheets on the bed and flowers on the cabinet.

"Are they here yet?" Claire looked up from the rocking chair she sat in to feed Charlotte. Alex had just walked in the nursery and smiled on Claire's comment. It didn't happen often that his wife got nervous but she sure was now. He knew Edna meant a lot to Claire and she wanted the old lady to be proud of her home.

"Mum called about half an hour ago that they were still almost an hour away from Drovers so relax Claire, it'll still be a few minutes. Enough time to feed BOM and change her."

"I just want her to like it here…aren't you nervous about what Bryce will say?"

"A little, but I'm more nervous about Harry meeting Bryce and Mum meeting Sandra! I really don't know what will happen if those four meet at the same time!"

"Could be interesting for sure! How far is Meg with lunch?"

"Almost done, will be ready just in time for them…"

It was arranged that they'd all have lunch together on Drovers followed by a tour of the homestead. After that Bryce and Liz would drive back to their hotel in Gungellan while Edna would stay on Drovers.

Claire was just finished with feeding and changing Charlotte and walked down the stairs as she heard somebody honk outside.

"They're here!" she shouted and hurried down the rest of the stairs with the baby in her arms.

In the hallway she met Alex who had just come out of the kitchen.

"It's not like we didn't all hear the honking Claire…no need to shout!" he said to make his wife laugh but that backfired because Claire only shot him one of her famous looks and said "Shut up Ryan!" as she opened the front door to greet Edna, Bryce and Liz.

After the greetings were done they all sat down to have lunch together. Meg had prepared sandwiches and salads and everything was waiting to be eaten in the dining room.

"The place looks lovely Claire!" Liz said looking up from her plate. "When did you find the time to paint everything?"

"Oh, Tess did that while I was pregnant. We've had it for a while…" Claire replied. When Claire had been about 4 months pregnant Tess had finally been able to convince her that peeling paint that probably contained lead wasn't the best thing for a little child so Claire had agreed to have everything freshly painted.

After Liz had heard that it had been Tess's idea to paint the house Liz lost interest in it and started talking about the wedding and asked about what had been arranged and what still needed to be done.

After lunch it was time for the tour of the homestead. They started with the main house showing Edna her room and where Claire and Alex and Charlotte slept.

"I hope she won't wake you during the night Edna. She's not really sleeping through…" Claire said with an apologetic look.

"That's all right Claire. I'm not really sleeping through either and my hearing's not the best anymore so I should be fine. The house is really special by the way, I can understand why you love it so much…"

As they walked over to the stables so Claire could show off her horses Bryce took Alex to the side to have a little private talk.

"Alex, could we talk alone somewhere for a minute? There's something I need to tell you…"

"Sure…Claire, Bryce and I will be in the study for a minute…"

Claire nodded and Alex left her with Liz and Edna to do the rest of the tour. Tess had joined the others at work after lunch, glad to get away from Liz Ryan.

"You sound serious Bryce" Alex said as he and his father entered the study "Is everything ok?"

"Not exactly…Isabel and I have decided to file for divorce…or rather Isabel has decided but I think it's better that way…"

"Why? What happened?"

"I told them about you…"  
"Oh…" that was something Alex hadn't expected. In all the time he had been in the city Bryce had never shown any intention to change something about the situation.  
"But why now? Weren't you just trying to get everything back to normal?" Alex new Bryce and his wife had had problems in their marriage but it from what his father had told him it had always looked like they were trying to sort everything out.

"Well, I've thought about telling your sisters for a while now but what really helped me make my decision now was when I saw you and Ashley together last week. I think it was then I saw for the first time what I was actually putting you through…you know you have 3 sisters but you can't even contact them let alone let them know about your family." Bryce sighed at the thought of his granddaughter "And that was the second thing that got to me last week. When I was holding Charlotte in my arms I realized that I could never have a normal relationship with her if I wasn't honest to my family about you. So I told them all at our weekly family lunch on Sunday."  
"What did they say? It must have been a shock for them…" Alex thought back to the day he had found out that Harry wasn't his father. How hurt he had been by all the lies he had been told all those years.

"Well, the girls took it pretty good I would say. It didn't take Ashley long to put two and two together and she directly asked me if you were my son. Lindsey and Jacqueline asked me for a picture of you and wanted to know what you did and where you lived. Isabel didn't say anything at first but after the girls had left she practically threw me out of my own house."

"I'm so sorry Bryce…" Alex felt for his father.

"It's not your fault Alex…you never asked to be in this world but you are and I'm not sorry for that. Yes, it was a mistake to have that affair with your mother and I can truly say I'm paying for that now. But I will never be sorry you are here because I really love you…you are my son and nothing can change that."

"Thank you Bryce…I guess I'm a lucky man to have two fathers now…where did you go after Isabel threw you out?"

"I stayed at a hotel. But now Liz has offered me to stay with her for a while and I think I might come back to that if it's ok with you…"

Alex was surprised once again. He new that his mother and Bryce were still getting along pretty well but was there more to this? How would Harry take that? But then again…Harry had Sandra now and Liz lived a long way away and deserved to be happy.

So Alex said "That's really up to you two Bryce, I have no saying in that…"

"Thank you son!" Bryce replied and Alex could see the relief on his face. "You know, the girls have asked me if they could meet you…I think Ashley told Lindsey and Jacqui all she knew about you. They're all curious now. But I told them it's up to you…I have Ashley's email address here. If you decide you want to meet them just contact her and she'll take care of everything. She also told me to say she really likes having an older brother and especially because it's you…"  
Alex was overwhelmed by his feelings now. All the time he had been in Melbourne this was what he had always wanted besides meeting his father, to get to know his sisters.

"Would you tell them I would love to meet them and that I will contact Ashley as soon as this wedding is over and everything's back to normal?"

Bryce happily agreed and father and son hugged before they went back outside to join the others…

79

After Bryce and Liz had left again Edna excused herself to take a nap. The journey had made her tired and she joked about not being 18 anymore. Before she left to go upstairs she warned Claire that the two of them plus Alex would cook together that evening to give Meg a night off.

Now Claire was sitting in the study working on the books half heartedly trying to find a way to tell Edna politely that she wasn't too keen about cooking. She remembered her last cooking incident in Alex's apartment in Melbourne and shuddered. That had ended in a catastrophe…although the food hadn't tasted too bad and cleaning the kitchen afterwards had been quite funny…

"You got a minute?" Alex leaned in the doorway looking at his wife and daughter, who was placed in a crib beside the desk.

"Sure, I'm not really working anyway. Did you hear Edna saying she wants to cook with us?"

Alex laughed "Yeah, I heard that…she doesn't know what she's getting herself into! But that's not why I came…" He walked over to Claire and sat down on the desk opposite of her.

"What is it then? Bryce? Liz? Harry? Sandra?" Claire knew the tension between his parent parties had been bugging Alex's mind for most of the week.

"Bryce…sort of…he told his wife and daughters about me…"

"Wow! That's something I wouldn't have expected! How did they react, what did they say?"

"Well, his wife asked for a divorce…" Alex felt sorry for Bryce that his existence had ended his marriage.

"I'm sorry Alex…I hope he doesn't blame you!"

"No, no, he told me it would have probably ended anyway but I still feel kinda guilty…"  
"Don't Alex, it's not your fault…" Claire rubbed his knee and looked him in the eyes "What did your sisters say?"

"Bryce said they were surprised. Ashley, the clever kid, must have gotten pretty quickly who he was talking about. I bet by now the other two know everything about me she knows…they wanna meet me…"

"And do you wanna meet them?"

"Yes…No…I don't know…what if they don't like me?"

"Oh Alex…Ashley really likes you! I could see that when I met her. And your other sisters will like you, too! Just meet them and you'll see! If you want me to come with you I will…I'll be by your side if you need me!"  
"Thanks Claire…I will think about it, ok? Right now I just want this wedding to be over so we can go on with our lives and then we'll see…thanks for listening! I better go and check on the horses before we have to get in the kitchen with Edna…could be fun! Claire McLeod cooking…" Alex hopped off the desk after he had gotten a slap on his leg from Claire and left the study.

When it was time to cook dinner Edna came downstairs again looking for Claire and Alex. She found them in the study looking at some papers and smiled. They were a really nice couple and you could see how much they loved each other. It was only a pity neither of them knew how to be in a real family. From what she had guessed out of their stories both Claire and Alex never had a "normal" home so Edna had decided to help them a little so at least their sweet daughter would be able to grow up that way.

Edna knew she couldn't change Claire and she didn't want to she just wanted to add a few skills. And she'd start with the cooking today…

"Claire, Alex, are you ready for you first cooking lesson?"

"Edna..." Claire answered "I'm really not sure if I can do that…"

But Alex liked the thought of cooking together with Claire and he knew exactly how he could get her to do it. "Come on McLeod…since when do you not accept a challenge? Come on, let's see who is the better cook…you or me!"

That got to Claire as always. She loved to beat Alex…"Ok, bet is on! Let's see whose food they'll like better…yours or mine!"

2 hours later Claire and Alex were covered in flour but laughing as they put their first pie in the oven where the lamb roast was already waiting. A very pleased Edna sat at the kitchen table smiling at the sight of the young couple. She hadn't done much of the work, mostly she had only told Claire and Alex what to do and had given advice on how to do it.

"What do we do now?" Claire turned around and looked at Edna.

"Well, the lamb and the pie are in the oven, the vegetables are cooked and wait to be served, the salad is done as well…I would say we clean the kitchen and then you two should clean yourselves. Have you set the alarm like I told you?"

"Yep, all set and done…Come Claire, let's clean this mess up, shall we?"

Later when everybody was seated around the dinner table Claire and Alex proudly presented what they had cooked with Edna's help. They didn't fail to tell all the girls who had cooked what and that they needed to know what tasted better. In the end they all called it a draw but nobody complained about the taste of anything and Edna was once again pleased with herself and the result she had achieved. A few more lessons in the next few days and the two of them would be able to survive without the help of Meg or any other house keeper.

When Claire and Alex got ready for bed that night they still smiled about their cooking session with Edna.

"It was fun, wasn't it?" Alex asked Claire as he slipped under the covers next to her.

"What, the cooking? Yeah, I have to admit we did have fun. And it didn't taste all that bad, did it?"

"No, we were good. Though I have to say my carrots were better than your peas…"  
"They were not!"  
"Were indeed! But anyway…who'd have thought…you and me were able to fix a proper dinner for everybody and nobody complained!"  
"They better not!" Claire shouted out "It tasted great and I won't accept any other opinion!"

Alex laughed "What ya gonna do? Shoot them?"  
"If necessary…"

Alex smiled. That was what he loved about Claire…dead serious about everything she did.

"I love you Claire, you know that?"

"Hey, where did that come from?"

"Do I hear a complain?"

Claire laughed. "I would never complain about you loving me because I feel just the same Mr Ryan…"

They kissed passionately and this time Alex didn't have a problem with somebody sleeping next door as he deepened the kiss…

80

Early Friday morning a courier arrived bringing the dresses and matching shoes for the bridesmaids to Drovers run. Since Claire and Alex were the only ones living on Drovers that didn't need to be there for the fitting the left their daughter in Edna's care and went out to do the few chores that needed to be done that day while the rest of the women in the house tried on their dresses.

Nobody but Tess knew what Claire and her had chosen regarding style and colour so it was a huge surprise as they opened each box.

The dresses were all the same dark blue but had a unique style that matched Claire's wedding dress and the personality of person who'd wear it. Claire and Tess had left photo's of each girl at the bridal shop along with the measurements so that Pat could design each dress with a personally touch.

Now the girls one by one put on their dresses to see if they fit and if something needed changing. Meg and Edna would both have a look and decide together what needed to be done. Thankfully it was not a lot and by the time Claire and Alex came back from doing the chores every dress was finished and fitted perfectly and it was time to get lunch ready.

Just as the evening before Edna insisted on preparing the meal with Claire's and Alex's help so they left Tess, Becky, Jodi and Meg in the living room and claimed the kitchen. Since Tess and Nick had talked their siblings into having a buck's and hen's night that evening it had been decided to have a cooked lunch and only snacks and sandwiches for dinner.

Once again Edna managed to make Claire and Alex do all the work while she supervised and gave orders all the while playing with Charlotte.

After lunch it was time for Alex to pack some things for the night and leave for Wilgul. It was agreed that the buck's night would be held there and Alex would spend the night with his brother and get ready for the wedding on Wilgul.

"Do I really have to go Claire?" Alex asked with a still empty bag in hands. "We are already married and even have a child together…what's the point in sleeping on Wilgul?"

Claire laughed at the face Alex pulled. He looked like a little boy who had just had his favourite toy take away from him. "Come on Alex, play nice. You know Tess wants to do everything as if it was our first wedding and after all we put her through she deserves that. So please…be a good husband and stay with your brother tonight."

Alex walked up to Claire and took her in his arms. "But I'll miss you…that night in Fisher alone in the hotel room was awful…"

"I know…I'll look like a vampire tomorrow as well if I have to get up alone every time Charlotte's awake…but we'll survive I guess, it's only one night…"

"I know…by the way, is it ok for you that we don't go on a honeymoon just yet? We never had one but with all the horses coming next week we wouldn't be able to go…"  
"It's ok Alex, I think I'm too excited about the horses anyway to enjoy it."  
"It's a good feeling, isn't it? To know all these horses are coming and we'll get our business back up…"

"It is! All the time you were gone I was so sad every time I saw the empty training area…"  
"I'm sorry Claire…I don't think I thought about what my leaving would mean to you…"  
"It's all right Alex, I always knew why you left and I have to say it really did you good to be on your own for a while…"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Alex said with acted indignation. He knew what Claire meant. He hadn't been the most reliable and responsible person before he had to take care of himself for the first time in his life.

"Well, just think about what you did to all the single girls in the district…" Claire said with a wink. "Now go and pack your bag…I'll say goodbye to you when you come down." She gave him a quick kiss and left the bedroom.

Neither Claire nor Alex had originally wanted a hen's or a buck's night but had been "convinced" by their siblings that it was absolutely necessary to have one.

Now Alex was on his way to Wilgul and really nervous about what would happen tonight. His buck's night was basically a family affair poker game which he liked but it also meant the first meet up of Bryce and Harry. Alex knew that Bryce was not a problem in this. The problem was Harry and his pigheaded mind that was not ready to forget what had happened in the past and move on. So his buck's night should be really interesting with both of his fathers in the same room.

When Alex arrived on Wilgul Nick had already set up the table for the poker game and chips and beer were waiting for the guests. Nick, Harry, Terry and Jake were already seated around the table and other than Alex the only ones missing were the new vet Dave and Bryce who had to drop Liz off on Drovers first.

"Hey, you already started without me?" Alex complained as he walked into the living room where Nick had set up the table.

"Not our fault if you're late…I said the party would start at six and now it's half past…" Nick replied smirking.

"Get away Nick! I'm the main person, how can you start without me?"

"Shut up, get yourself a beer and sit down Alex!"

15 minutes later both Bryce and Dave arrived at the same time and introduced themselves to each other before entering the house.

"Dave Brewer, I'm the new vet here…what's your excuse for being late?"  
"Bryce Redstaff, and I guess you can say I'm one of Alex's fathers. I had to drop of his mother on Drovers run for the hen's night so that's a good excuse. What's yours?"

"Was on duty…so the groom has more than one father? Interesting!"

"Long story…shall we go inside?"

Inside Alex and Nick welcomed Dave and Bryce and introduced them to the other men. Harry only looked at Bryce and shook his hand but didn't say anything. Bryce was smart enough not to be hurt, he could imagine how hard it was for Harry to have to face him. Maybe a friendly poker game would help…

The evening went on but ever since Bryce had showed up there wasn't much talking on the table and even Dave's chattiness didn't help. All the men were waiting for a reaction of Harry who had been unnaturally quiet. Finally it was too much for Alex. He wanted his two fathers to get along, the situations was too hard on him as it was.

"Is this a party or a funeral? I bet the women at Drovers have more fun than we do here! Why don't you two take a break and sort things out outside?" he shouted in the direction of Harry and Bryce. "I know this situation is not easy for you but I can't stand this anymore! Go and hit yourself if you want to but sort it out!"

Harry and Bryce took a careful look at each other and left the room silently. Once outside they sat down still not talking. It was as neither of them wanted to be the first to speak. Finally Bryce was to the one to speak up first "Look Harry, we can make this hard for Alex and go on ignoring each other or we think about him for a second and try to get along for his sake. I would choose the later because I really care about him. I know it must have been really hard for you to find out you're not his father but I want you to know that I have no intention on taking Alex away from you. I think there's enough room for both of us in his life…"

Harry was silent for a few seconds after Bryce had finished and thought about what the other man had said. "All right, we should really try to be civil around each other for Alex's sake and for his family…" was all he said but offered Bryce his hand to seal their deal. Bryce took it and they went back inside.

"Everything sorted?" Alex wanted to know and Harry answered "Sure…let's get on with the game!"

The rest of the night went without any more awkward moments and everybody had a lot of fun so that Alex said at the end "Man, I really need a party room on Drovers or something! We have to do this more often!"

81

On Drovers Tess had planned a retro party for Claire's hen's night. Except for Liz and Edna everybody would dress up like 10 years ago when Claire and Alex had first gotten married and they'd play the music from back then Tess would mix all the "in" drinks she could remember.

It had taken her some convincing to get Claire to wear one of her leggings and a long pullover but with the help of Jodi and Becky she had succeeded and all the girls were now dressed in the style of the early 90s.

Tess wasn't looking forward to spending another evening with Liz Ryan but she knew she'd have to put up with her for Claire's sake. She was her mother-in-law and Charlotte's grandmother after all. If only she knew what she had done to that woman to deserve her rejection…

Through the open door to the veranda they heard a car pull up and shortly after that Liz walked into the living room.

"Good evening everybody! Have you already started the party without me?" she said and added after having a look around "Oh Claire, the decorations in here look lovely! I've brought us some of the good stuff!" with that she planted 2 bottles of champagne on the table with the drinks.

"Thanks Liz, Tess and the other girls did all the decorations…the whole party was their idea."

"Oh…thank you Tess then" was all Liz replied with a funny look at Tess.

Tess ignored the look and turned her usual chattiness on "Ok, let's get this party started…we'll have lots of fun games and a lot of dancing tonight…"

Claire watched Liz and the looks she gave Tess carefully. She didn't want any scenes tonight and really hoped that Liz would behave herself. After all Nick wasn't there…

Edna was comfortably seated in an arm chair and watched the young people play games and have fun. She really enjoyed being on Drovers Run, she hadn't had so much fun ever since she visited her son in the USA a few years back. It was like Claire and her family had given her a new life and something worth living for. And Charlotte was just the cutest baby she had ever seen.

After everybody but Claire had already had quite a few cocktails and glasses of Liz's champagne Tess suggested they should all do the limbo. Claire didn't look too happy at first but Tess and Jodi dragged her on the dance floor and forced her to join in.

"But I'm not that flexible!" She said. "I will land on my butt, you'll see…"

"That's the fun about it! Come on Claire, you'll love it!" Tess shouted and showed Claire what to do.

"I'll skip this one…" Liz said smiling from a safe distance and sat down next to Edna.

"Aren't those girls just lovely?" The elderly woman asked Liz with a huge smile.

"Oh, they certainly are…if only Tess could commit to things for longer than five minutes…she'll be back in the city in no time!"  
"Tess? You really must be getting something wrong there Mrs Ryan. I don't think Tess will go back to the city any time soon. She just started her alpaca breeding programme and seems so excited about that. I don't think she would give that up. And she told me all about the organic business she had with your son. That sounds very promising, too."  
As the word came to Nick and Tess's relationship to him Liz's body stiffened up and she mumbled "That girl has only caused trouble ever since she first came here…"

Edna didn't know if the younger woman had wanted her to hear that or if she'd thought that her hearing was already quite impaired but Edna just couldn't leave that remark uncommented. "I'm not sure if Tess is really the one causing trouble or if it is rather you that does." She heard Liz breath in but went on before the other woman could say anything "I don't know you very well Mrs Ryan but from what I've seen in those 2 days you're here I don't think I want to be friends with you…can't you see that you ruin both your sons lives with your behaviour? I think I should go to bed now, tomorrow's a big day for all of us. Maybe you should leave, too." With that Edna got up from her arm chair and walked over to Tess and Claire and the rest of the Drovers girls to say goodnight. Claire who had watched and overheard the whole scene with Liz smiled and whispered "Thank you!" to the old lady who then winked at her.

Liz stayed in her chair totally dumbstruck after what Edna had said. Shortly after the old lady had left she asked Claire if she could use the phone and then called Bryce to pick her up which he did half an hour later.

Claire's hen's night went on till way after midnight and all the girls had a really great time.

Before Claire went to bed she checked on Charlotte who was sound asleep for a change and then went into her bedroom to change for the night and go to sleep before her daughter chose to wake up again.

She opened the door and walked inside and when she reached for the switch to turn the light on she felt somebody grab her round her waist and place a passionate kiss on her lips. Not knowing what was going on Claire stroke out and placed a hard slap on the person's face that she couldn't recognize in the dim light.

"Ow, Claire! What the hell did you do that for?"

"Alex? What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be on Wilgul with Nick!"

"Is that the way to greet your husband when you haven't seen him for most of the day…ow, that really hurts…"  
Claire switched on the light to see what he was wining about and saw that Alex's lip was bleeding. "Looks like you bit your lip Ryan…and by the way, that was the way to greet the groom that is supposed to not see his bride the night before the wedding. Come on, I'll get some ice from the kitchen while you sit down and shut up…I really don't wanna put up with Tess when she sees you here!" Claire pushed Alex towards the bed and left the room to get some ice from the freezer.

When she came back Alex had crawled under the covers pressing a paper tissue on his lip to stop the bleeding.  
"Here, get that on." Claire said and handed him the plastic bag with the crushed ice that was wrapped in a tea towel. "I don't want you to have swollen lip at the altar tomorrow."

"Well, if it is swollen we both know who's fault it is!"

Claire laughed "Yeah, yours…what are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep over there…"  
"So you thought you'd just come sneaking in here? That's not a good idea Mr Ryan! As soon as my sister sees your arse in here you'll be very sorry for yourself that can guarantee you!"

"She doesn't need to know if we're both quiet…good thing she has the downstairs bedroom now…" Alex said and wiggled his eyebrows seductively.

"You really have a one track mind Ryan…" Claire said with a smile "But who said you're getting anywhere tonight? We'll get married tomorrow and the tradition doesn't tell you to spend the night before your wedding with your future husband…"

"But we ARE already married Claire! Come on…I know you don't wanna sleep alone tonight either…"

"You wanna try me? I could throw you out right now if I wanted to..."

"See, I knew it! You want me…"

"Well, maybe…but we'll have to be really quiet…by the way, how did you get here anyway? I didn't hear your car pull up?"

"I took Chester…he's in the stables now. And I promise I'll leave as soon as the sun comes up so Tess won't see me…now come on, let's do some of that naked stuff you like so much…" Alex pulled Claire in for a passionate kiss and helped her get the pullover over her head. "Have I told you yet that I really think you look damn sexy in those tight leggings McLeod?"

"Shut up and kiss me Ryan…" Claire said and started unbuttoning his shirt…


	22. Chapter 22

82

The next morning Claire and Alex woke up to their daughter crying. Claire groaned and looked on the alarm clock and when she realized how late it already was she was wide awake in a heartbeat.

"Alex! You gotta leave…NOW!"

"Good morning Claire, I love you too. Yes, a good morning kiss would be really nice…" Alex mumbled.

"I mean it! It's already 7:30 and Tess could walk in here any minute now! She's gonna rip your head off when she sees you here and I'd like to have you in one piece later!"

"You're my wife Claire, I have a right to be here!"

"Right, do you wanna go and tell Tess?"

Alex laughed "Ok, you won…I'm out of here." He gave Claire one last kiss and jumped out of the bed to get dressed while Claire put on her bathrobe and went over to the nursery to feed Charlotte.

As Alex left the bedroom he almost pushed Edna down the stairs because he was in a hurry to get outside before anybody saw him or Chester.

"Oh…sorry Edna…"  
"Aren't you supposed to be at your brother's?"

"I…well…yes…but I couldn't sleep and…" Alex felt his face turn red.

Edna smiled and petted his back. "It's all right Alex, I understand that. But you should hurry up now, I don't think your sister-in-law will be very happy to see you here…"

Alex felt relieved because he was sure now that Edna wouldn't tell Tess about him sneaking in last night "Thanks Edna, you're the best" He kissed the old lady on the cheek and hurried down the stairs and practically ran to the stables to saddle up Chester and ride back to Wilgul.

A few hours later Claire looked in the mirror in her bedroom. Alex had given her a hickey last night and she was trying to cover it with make up but didn't really succeed. She had successfully hidden it from Tess while having breakfast which hadn't been really hard because her sister had been too excited to notice anything. But both Edna and Meg had spotted it, Claire had seen their smiles and the looks they had exchanged.

Now Claire was sitting in her bedroom and waited for Tess to do her hair and make up.

"Damn…damn, damn, damn" she muttered as she put another layer of make up on the hickey. Just then Tess flew in and asked "What's up? You don't look as happy as you should be at the moment…"

"Tess…you love me right?"

"Sure, you're my sister!"

"And you wouldn't do anything to set this wedding off, would you? I mean like ripping my head off?"

"No, of course not! What's up Claire? You might as well tell me…I promise I'll leave you in one piece!"

Claire ducked her head as a precaution and spoke her next words as fast as she could "Alex was here last night and now I have a hickey on my neck…"

"You have WHAT? I'm gonna kill that husband of yours…once this day is over!"

"I'm sorry Tess…he couldn't sleep so he came over and one thing led to the next…"

"I really don't wanna know the details of your hickey Claire…come on, we should start on your make up and cover this thing up…I could kill Alex! MEN! They never think!"

When Tess was finished with Claire's hair and make up Meg poked her head through the bedroom door.

"Got that hickey covered?" she asked with a smile and added "Claire, Charlotte's hungry, I think it's time to feed her…"

So Claire breastfed her daughter one last time before she had to put up with the bottle for the rest of the day…there was no way Claire could breastfeed her daughter in her wedding dress…

On Wilgul things were a lot more relaxed. Alex had come back just in time for Nick to wake up who was wondering why his brother was already up but blamed it on the nerves. They had breakfast together and talked till it was time for them to get ready and drive back to Drovers. Alex had a little problem tying his bow tie and after about 10 tries he shouted for Nick's help.

"Nervous Al?"

"Nah, not really, just not good with those things…why do I have to wear this anyway? Or rather…why am I doing this whole thing? I AM already married…"  
"Because you love Claire and you wanna do her a favour. And admit it, you can't wait to see her walking down the aisle in a wedding dress!"

"Ok, I admit…I wonder what the dress will look like…"

"From what Tess told me she'll look great. Come on Alex, we should get going or we'll be late for your wedding…"

"Nick…did you tell the boys at Killarney to have Thunder ready to bring him to Drovers?"

"Everything's sorted...Now move your butt before I kick it!"

On Drovers Claire once again looked in the mirror and couldn't believe what she saw. Was this really her? Could Claire McLeod really look that good?

She was fully dressed now in her wedding dress and wearing the shoes they had bought and that she had practiced walking in every day after Alex had left the house.

"You look amazing Claire!" Tess said "Turn around so I can see if there's anything missing…Nope, everything's just fine.

After a light knock on the door Jodi, Becky and Meg came inside the bedroom and were all speechless when they saw Claire. It was the first time they saw the wedding dress.

"You are soooo beautiful Claire! You're gonna knock Alex off his feet when he sees you like this" Jodi said as she looked at Claire up and down and got a heavy nod from Becky and Meg.

"Are you ready to go?" Meg asked "Edna has already taken Charlotte downstairs. Everybody's waiting for you…"  
"Yes, I'm as ready as I'll ever get…" Claire replied with a rather shy smile. She would never admit it but she was actually nervous.

The ceremony itself would take place outside in the back garden of the main house with the guests and the bride and groom looking out over the wide pastures of the beautiful land. Since Claire and Alex were already married and didn't need an official celebrant they had asked Terry to perform the ceremony for them and he had been honoured to agree.

Since Claire didn't have any relative but Tess left she had asked Meg to take her down the aisle as she was the closest to a parent that Claire still had.

Alex and Nick were waiting at the arch that had been put up and under which the bride and groom would renew their vows.

Tess gave Terry a sign that they were ready to start and he put on the CD player. As the music started to play the Drovers girls one by one walked down the aisle and it was finally time for Claire and Meg to follow them

"Ready?" Meg asked and Claire nodded as they slowly stepped out of the house into the bright sunshine…

83

Alex stood under the arch and saw first Jodi then Becky and finally Tess walk down the aisle slowly and line up opposite to him and Nick.

Then he turned his face back towards the house and the sight he got took his breath away. There was Claire in the most beautiful dress he had ever seen, wearing gloves that went all the way up over her elbows. Her hair was put up and the little make up she wore made her face look even more beautiful.

'I am truly the luckiest man on earth!' he thought as Claire walked slowly down the aisle and the smile he had already had on his face turned into a huge grin.

When she had reached him Meg placed a kiss on her cheek and put Claire's hand in Alex's.

"You look amazing…" Alex whispered and looked Claire deep in the eyes. Then they turned towards Terry together.

"We're here today because Claire and Alex invited us all to relive their wedding that took place in secret 10 years ago and that we all didn't know of till only a few weeks ago. Even the two of them didn't know they were married all this time although all of us that lived and worked with them over the years could always see that special bond between them. So much has changed over this time but even the worst family tragedies could not break their love for each other. The best and most beautiful prove for that is their daughter Charlotte. Today Claire and Alex have decided to renew their vows given 10 years ago in all our presence. I wanna close my speech with the words of the famous Aristotle that I find very fitting for you two 'Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.' And you two are truly one soul…"

When Terry was finished everybody had tears in their eyes and Alex had to swallow twice before he could go on with his vow to Claire. He took her hands in his and looked her deep in the eyes as he started to speak.

"Claire…words can not express what I feel for you today. When I said 'I do' all those years ago I really meant it when I said I would love you for the rest of my life. After the tragedy that happened on the day after we got married I thought I had lost you forever but we somehow pulled our act together and today you are my best friend, my lover, my wife and the mother of our beautiful daughter. Thank you for always believing in me Claire, through the good and the bad times. I love you more than you'll ever know…"

With their hands still holding each other and their gazes still locked Claire continued.

"Alex…you are the one person that never fails to make me laugh when I most need it. You are my best friend and you are the most wonderful father to our daughter. I'm sorry I robbed us of all the happy years we could have shared together but maybe we both needed to know what true love meant before we could really appreciate what we have today. I love you more than my life and I wouldn't know where I'd be today if it wasn't for you. Thank you for our daughter. I love you…"

After that Terry turned to the guests again and said "Now that we've heard Claire and Alex renew their vows in front of all those witnesses it is a great honour for me to present you Mr and Mrs Ryan…or McLeod-Ryan in Claire's case…" and he then whispered to the happy couple "I think it's time for a kiss now!"

Alex didn't need to be told twice and pulled Claire in for a long, passionate kiss under the eyes of all their family and friends who then broke into a huge applause.

When Alex finally let go of Claire she smiled at him and said "That's done…can we go over to the fun part of this now?"

Soon everybody lined up to congratulate Claire and Alex before they'd all sit down to eat together and get the party started.

When it was time to hand over the presents everybody argued who'd be the first in line till Tess just grabbed her sister and Alex to hand them her presents for them. Claire and Alex each got a flat package and as they both unwrapped it they saw that both of them were framed papers.

"I couldn't buy you 'your' star but I thought that it would still be nice for you to have a star named after you so I bought a star for each member of your family. One of them is now named Claire McLeod-Ryan, one Alexander Ryan and a third one is named Charlotte McLeod-Ryan. Where you can find them is written down on each of these papers and in order for you to really see them I have this here as well…" she reached down the table and pulled a telescope out "It was a little hard to wrap so I just hid it…"

Claire loved the present her sister had given her and so did Alex. After Tess had gotten a huge hug it was time for the next presents.

From Harry and probably Sandra as well the young couple got a new sign for Drovers Run and another one for their horse training business. On Nick's advice Harry had gotten two signs, the Drovers Run sign had Claire's and Tess's names on it, the sign for the horse services had Alex's and Claire's name.

Bryce and Liz had gotten two brand new saddles for Claire and Alex with matching headgear. Liz had complained to Bryce that that was not really her style for a wedding present but Bryce had convinced her that both Claire and Alex would love the saddles and the headgear and that it was the perfect wedding present.

Edna gave them a beautiful hand sewn quilt for their bed and a little one for Charlotte's.

Nick had set up a trust fund for his little niece and would send Claire and Alex out to a romantic dinner whenever they wanted while he would babysit Charlotte.

Meg, Becky, Jodi and Terry had put all their money together and were sending Claire and Alex on a honeymoon to a small hotel on the outskirts of Adelaide. They could take Charlotte with them and the hotel offered a babysitting service so they could have some private time, too.

"But the horses are coming next week and there's so much to do…" Claire said.

"That's all taken care of Claire" Meg insured her "We'll finish the work that needs to be done and you'll be back before the horses arrive. We've arranged everything. You'll be leaving tonight and will be back on Tuesday evening. Your last honeymoon was not very happy so we all wanted to give you two the opportunity to make new memories…"

Claire and Alex were moved by the thoughts of their friends. Meg was probably the only person that really understood what they had gone through 10 years ago because she had been the one to take pick up the pieces and take care of Claire.

"Thank you…" Claire whispered as she first hug Meg and then the others.

Claire's and Alex's wedding presents for each other went off with a storm…  
Claire couldn't believe it when one of the Killarney hands drove a horse trailer into the Drovers yard and unloaded the beautiful stallion.

"Where did you get the money from? He must have cost a fortune!"

Alex smiled "I got a little more for my apartment than I expected and thought I'd invest it in our business…"

Claire was close to tears "Thank you Alex…he's wonderful"  
"Ah, I'd wait with that comment till you have to break him in…So where's my present?"

Claire led Alex back into the house and down into the cellar.

"The fact that I don't have as much on me as you seem to have my gift for you required a little work and a lot of help from our siblings. I know you felt a little lost when you first got back here so I wanted to give you your very own place at Drovers…" Claire said and opened the door to the party room.

"Wow…Claire…that is…wow!" Alex was speechless. He would have never expected something like that. "Thank you Claire…I love you!"

"I love you, too." Claire replied. Then Alex kissed her before claiming his party room for the first time…

After the presents were all handed over it was time for the bride and groom to have their wedding dance and soon everybody joined them on the dance floor in the living room.

Everything would have been perfect if it hadn't been for Liz and Sandra. While Liz already knew that Sandra was now living on Killarney with Harry Sandra had still made sure that everybody heard her remarks as she told Edna about all the changes she had made in the house. That and seeing Nick and Tess happily dancing together got Liz so furious that she just couldn't bear it anymore and exploded…

84

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Liz shouted and grabbed Sandra's arm. "You've barely moved into the place and claim it as yours already? I've lived there for 20 years and no matter what Harry told you they were good years. It took a lot of hard work to make the place what it is and now you little…bitch come in and change everything…" she then turned to Tess "…and while I'm at it…I think I told you to stay away from Nick. You're not the right woman for him! You'll go back to the city and you'll break his heart…"

Bryce went over to Liz and tried to pull her away from both Sandra and Tess. Claire was fuming up after the first wave of shock over Liz's outburst had disappeared "How can you dare to talk to my sister like that? Didn't she prove already that she has no intentions on going back to the city? I know you're Alex's mother but I really can't have you talk to Tess like this so I want you to leave. NOW!"

"But Claire…" Liz started but Bryce interrupted her.

"Come on Liz, let's get outside…I think you've said enough at the moment…we'll leave so you can calm down and then apologize to everybody."

"I'm not going to…"

"Yes you are…now come on or you will be very sorry for yourself…" Bryce dragged Liz outside. He was really mad at her. He had just gotten a relationship with his son and was about to lose that if Liz went on like that.

"What the hell is up with you Liz? I can understand you're mad about Harry moving Sandra into Killarney but what is your problem with Tess?"  
"She'll hurt him…"

"I don't think so, Liz. Have you taken a look at them? They are deeply in love with each other! Even I as a man can see that. I really don't think Tess has any intention of hurting Nick."

"Maybe not on purpose…but she'll get fed up living out here and go back to the city…"

"Are we talking about Tess here or you? I remember that you originally weren't very happy when Harry bought Killarney because it was so far away from your friends. But from what I know about Tess she's different. She has plans for Drovers and plans for her and Nick. If you can't see that I'm really sorry and I guarantee you if you go on like that you're not only going to lose me but both of your sons and your granddaughter as well. Do you want that? Do you really want that?"

"No…I…how did my life get so out of hand?" Liz sat down on one of the chairs and started crying.

"Well, I may not be totally innocent in this because I got you pregnant and left you but I'd say the rest of the mess was caused by all your lies and manipulations over the years. Don't get me wrong Liz, I still love you and am very thankful I can stay with you but you need to stop this now because if you don't I will have to leave. I've had enough drama in my life lately, I really don't need any more. Are you willing to go back inside and apologize to everybody and make a new start?"

Liz nodded so Bryce handed her a handkerchief so she could clean herself up before they went back inside the house.

After Bryce had pulled Liz away from the group Sandra had tried to take advantage of her outburst and had started to say "Suits her we…" but Harry had interrupted her with a rude "Will you shut up Sandra?"

Nick had been surprised by his mother's words towards Tess. Tess had told him many times that Liz hated her but he had never wanted to see it. Now that the truth had been practically thrown into his face he felt really sorry for the way he had treated Tess. She had been right when she had told him that he never really listened to her.

"I'm sorry Tess…" he whispered to the woman he was still holding in his arms "I should have believed you when you said she hated you. I guess I was too blind to see it…"  
"It's all right Nick…I've been over that for quite a while now. I don't need Liz to like me…though I have always hoped that she could at least accept me in your life one day…guess that won't happen now."

Suddenly something dawned on Nick "Was Mum the reason you left back then when we were about to make love?"

Tess could only nod. She felt really sorry for Nick. She knew he loved his mother and being with her put him right in the middle.

"God, I'm going to kill her!" he pressed through his teeth.

"Don't Nick…you'll only regret it if you part with her. She is and always will be your mother. I can live with her not liking me and it's not like she's living round the corner, right? We don't need to see her every day…"

"You are too good for me Tess…you know that? How can you be so forgiving after all Mum did to you?"

"Because I've learned that life is too short for being resentful…she's only human and if she doesn't like me it's her own fault."  
"I love you Tess…I should have told you that a long time ago…I really love you and I don't deserve you…"  
"Yes you do Nick Ryan! Because I love you, too!"

Nick lowered his head and gently kissed Tess. Both of them were totally oblivious of the people around them till Claire shouted out "Finally! Took you long enough!" and the whole room broke into shouts and applause.

Liz had heard the last few sentences Tess and Nick had said and after her talk with Bryce she was finally able for the first time ever to see what Tess and Nick meant to each other. Bryce had been right, Tess was different from her and the way she looked at her son should have told her a long time ago that Tess truly loved Nick and that she could make him very happy.

All of a sudden she was ashamed of all the things she had said and done.

When the applause slowly came to an end Liz cleared her throat and got everybody's attention with it.

"Nick, Tess…I'm really sorry for what I said earlier…or for what I've done to you both over the years. I wasn't thinking straight and I can understand it if you don't want me in your life anymore. I wish you all the best for your future."

With that she turned around and walked away.

Tess took a look at Nick first and then at Claire before she ran after Liz.

"Liz, come back please…like I said life is too short to be resentful. You're Nick's and Alex's mother and the grandmother of any children they might have…you've made mistakes and some bad choices but nothing can change that. So please come back and don't leave your family behind. I know what it means to be without one and no matter what you've done you don't deserve that."  
"But the boys are so angry with me…"  
"They'll get around…"

After Tess had persuaded Liz to come back and give the family a chance the wedding party went on without any further interruptions.

When it was time for Claire and Alex to leave for their short honeymoon Meg helped Claire get changed and handed her three completely packed bags.

"When did you have time to pack for us?" Claire was really surprised.

"Yesterday, while you and Alex were out doing chores. I hope you don't mind. Everything else you'll need is already in the chopper that'll be here soon…"  
"Thanks Meg…and no, I don't think we mind!"

When the chopper arrived that would take the young family down to their hotel in Adelaide Claire and Alex said goodbye to everybody and as the helicopter lifted off Alex squeezed Claire's hand and said "Life's perfect, isn't it?"

Claire could only agree and they leaned over for a long passionate kiss….

85

Epilogue

Claire and Alex spent 3 wonderful days in Adelaide and when they got back they were happier than they had ever been.

Their horse training business quickly became on of the most successful in South Australia and they were already getting a name outside the state boarders. And thanks to Alex's wedding present to Claire the breeding programme was beginning to run as well and everything looked great.

Since the horses took up most of Claire's time with Alex still working on Killarney Tess had almost completely taken over any other business on Drovers and loved it.

Becky had won the fairness price of the young farmers competition and had left Drovers with Jake shortly after Claire's and Alex's wedding to go to college.

Meg had been offered a job in Melbourne and as much as she hated to leave Claire and Drovers she had taken the job.

Jodi had decided to stay on Drovers much to her own surprise.

Edna had stayed on Drovers for four weeks after the wedding and had managed to teach both Claire and Alex the basics of cooking which came in really handy after Meg left for the city. Now she was a frequent visitor on Drovers Run and Alex and Claire flew down to Melbourne with Charlotte once a month so the little girl could see both Edna and her grandparents.

Liz and Bryce were still living together and seemed to be very happy and Harry and Sandra were at this stage planning their own wedding. Lord knows what they saw in each other.

Alex had contacted Ashley a few days after the wedding and soon after that the three sisters met up with their brother on one of the times Alex was down in Melbourne. The first meeting had been a bit odd but the 4 siblings quickly formed a bond of mutual respect and friendship and the special connection between Alex and Ashley that had been there even before Ashley knew the truth had turned into a deep love for each other.

10 months after Claire and Alex had renewed their vows there was a huge party tent set up on Drovers for another wedding.

Claire leaned against one of the veranda posts as she watched everybody swarm around like bees. Today her little sister would marry the man she loved and Claire was happy for her.

After they had confessed their love for each other at the reception of Claire's wedding it hadn't taken Tess long to move into Wilgul and shortly after that Nick had proposed.

"Hey, shouldn't you be getting ready by now?" She heard a voice behind her and then felt two arms reach around her from behind.

"You know me…I don't need all that long to get finished. And besides…don't you know better than to stress out a pregnant woman?"

When Claire had found out she was pregnant again she couldn't believe that she of all people would have two children barely a year apart. She was 7 months pregnant now and they had just celebrated Charlotte's first birthday.

"Ok, you won…how is junior today?"  
"She's kicking her Mummy and letting me know she's ok…"

"Claire, I'm sure we'll have a boy this time…"

Claire just smiled. She had the same feeling that she had had with Charlotte that this baby would be another girl and although Alex would never admit it he was secretly hoping for that.

"Come on Ryan, let's get inside and get ready for Tess's big day…"

"Have I told you that I love you today?"

"Yes you have, but a woman can never hear that often enough" Claire answered and turned around in Alex's arms. They shared a deep kiss and Claire smiled afterwards. "I love you too Alex. Thanks for giving me the life I've always dreamed of…"  
"Any time McLeod, any time…" Alex said and the two of them walked into the house arm in arm.

**THE END**

**A/N: Well...this is it. I really hope you liked my story...it was the first fanfiction I ever wrote. Thanks to everybody that reviewed! It's much appreciated!**


End file.
